CHRO

CHRO of Tech giant TCS shares his views on Generative AI that would improve productivity

TCS shares views on generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT will create an “AI co-worker” rather than replace jobs. According to Milind Lakkad, the chief human resources officer (CHRO) of the country’s largest IT services firm, which employs over 6 lakh people, such tools will help improve productivity but will not change companies’ business models.

Milind Lakkad said in an interview, “It, Generative AI  will be a co-worker. It will be a co-worker and that co-worker will take time for them to underthrew the context for the customer.” According to Lakkad, the context for a job to be executed will be industry and customer-centric, which will continue to come from the human who is being assisted in tasks by such a coworker. “Jobs will not be replaced, but job definitions will change,” he added in comments that will assuage concerns about the future of jobs in the sector, which is one of the country’s largest recruiters of engineering talent.

The Introduction of platforms such as ChatGPT has raised questions about whether a trained human is even required to deliver the work that a technology company offers to clients. There are already examples of entire codes being generated by such platforms. The emergence of such intuitive platforms is being cited as one of the reasons for massive layoffs by large tech companies around the world. According to Lakkad, the context in which a specific customer works is extremely important, and the need to differentiate its offerings from the competition necessitates a customer’s continuous evolution. According to him, the amount of work required by humans versus generative AI platforms will vary by industry. “I think it’s a good thing for the future, but I think it’ll be collaboration rather than replacement,” Lakkad said, adding that the emergence of such tools will not change business models. Such tools will help improve productivity, and consistency of work delivered, reduce the need for governance, as well as accelerate delivery and reduce the need for peripherals functions. TCS is already using such inputs in “some pockets,” according to Lakkad, adding that much of the work will be done in these areas in the future and that the overall picture will be clear in two years. As a result, there will be changes in training, according to Lakkad, who added that the company pays close attention to this aspect and typically plans ahead of time for future requirements.