As AI eats some IT jobs, Bengaluru NIT-IIM graduate remembers his Kerala uncle who told him 'no scope for computer science' 20 years ago

Economic Times

15 hours ago

iStock In India, one thing that is never in short supply is free advice, often offered generously by neighbors and relatives who claim to know best
In India, if there's anything given away for free, it's an unsolicited opinion, especially from self-proclaimed well-wishers. A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur recently reminisced about how he was heavily discouraged by a neighbourhood uncle from taking up computer science in the early 2000s, as he speculated that the dot-com craze would demolish a lot of engineering careers.At that time, he was preparing to pursue computer science at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut. Despite securing an excellent All India Engineering Entrance Examination rank, he faced sharp disapproval from a neighborhood elder who warned him that computer science had little future. The man, still influenced by the aftermath of the dot-com bubble burst, argued that technology careers were on shaky ground and unlikely to provide job security. — abidsensibull (@abidsensibull) Hassan acknowledged the suggestion with courtesy, though he was determined to follow his own path. Over the following two decades, his decision proved prescient. The technology landscape transformed rapidly with the growth of the internet, the dominance of IT services, the rise of digital advertising and search engines, the smartphone revolution, and the expansion of e-commerce and logistics. Emerging innovations like cryptocurrency, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning further reshaped the professional world, opening countless opportunities for those in the field. The sector that was once dismissed as unstable grew into one of the strongest pillars of the global economy.
Today, however, a new shift is underway, he explained. The expansion of generative AI tools and advanced automation has started to reduce the need for certain low-skill IT roles. Hassan wryly notes that the same elder who once dismissed computer science might now feel vindicated, ready to remind him of those early warnings. Yet the reality is that technological progress has historically created far more opportunities than it has displaced, and those willing to adapt continue to thrive.
Abid Hassan leads Sensibull, a trading platform headquartered in Bengaluru, as its Chief Executive Officer. He graduated from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, and later from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.