Crucial Crossroads: Examining the Vulnerabilities of Indian IT in the AI Era
And an unlikely saviour !
While I lack first-hand experience in IT and lack expertise in history, I’ll attempt to envision the future of Indian IT based on my gleanings from newspaper articles and general observations.
It’s important to approach my attempt with a high level of scepticism!
The trigger for this piece is the newspaper that appeared today in Business Standard today. Check this article , for details.
Reflecting on my history classes, it’s apparent that India’s historical subjugation to the Mughals and British can be attributed to technological disparities.
Fast forward to the present, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) poised to redefine the IT landscape, concerns arise about the future of Indian IT. Much like Industrialization that crippled the Indian textile industry, the dominance of the West in AI could hit India’s soft spots, as detailed below:
- The crux lies in the composition of Indian IT, heavily reliant on roles susceptible to automation. The current emphasis on lower-tier functions, fuelled by an abundance of inexpensive engineering students, may prove detrimental as AI takes over these tasks.
The parallel with historical economic shifts is striking — just as the British flooded India with cheap cloth, the West could dominate AI, leaving Indian IT struggling to keep pace.
2. The reason of Western domination in AI is India's historical lack of a strong innovation culture over the past millennium. While our heritage is rich, the last thousand years have witnessed a slower pace of innovation. The success of Indian CEOs abroad underscores a trend — innovation tends to flourish beyond Indian shores.
3. That brings me to my third point. Risk-averse nature of the Indian middle class, backbone of the IT industry, is a notable factor. To draw a parallel — traditionally we have favoured investments in land and gold as investment options. Only recently have we seen a shift towards riskier assets like equity.
4. Indian investment in R & D is minimal at best. US spends 8.1% of Net Sales, China & Japan 3.8% & India 1.&%.
5. Similar to discussions on Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Proliferation, the West often establishes significant entry barriers for new entrants once they have already secured advantageous positions.
I observe a parallel trend unfolding in the realm of AI regulation as well.
In my role as a teacher, I find myself situated at the foundational level of the value chain, directly interacting with students who are poised to become integral parts of the IT industry. While I’m aware that the industry typically collaborates with engineering colleges, I advocate for a more proactive involvement of the IT sector at the school level — all over India and not only in IT hubs like Bangalore.
By the time students reach college, they often exhibit a predetermined outlook on life, primarily geared towards becoming mere components in the machinery.
It would be more beneficial for the IT industry to engage with students during their school years, aiming to shape their perspectives early on. Rather than fostering a mindset focused solely on fitting into predetermined roles, there should be an emphasis on identifying and encouraging all students to adopt an innovative approach to life. The parents are blind sided by their day to day struggles.
Schools may allow students to engage with AI to augment their creativity. For instance, empower Miti, proficient in writing, to utilize ChatGPT for refining her articles, and enable Shravni, skilled in painting, to use DALL-E to elevate her creative expressions. It’s similar to employing a calculator to eliminate the tedious aspects of mathematics, allowing one to concentrate on the essential components.
In summary, the potential demise of the Indian IT industry is influenced by a confluence of factors: the absence of a robust innovation culture, historical subjugation patterns, and a reluctance to invest substantially in innovation.
As we navigate the era of AI, the challenges echo past struggles, emphasizing the need for strategic adaptation and a renewed focus on fostering innovation within India.
Otherwise cities like Bangalore & Pune would be Babylon and Persepolis of tomorrow.
️ 🍁Thanks for reading this. I appreciate the assistance Shivang S Maini has offered in the discussions and finalization of this article.
