Latest news with #HimanshiLohchab
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Global trends in AI computers and gadgets
Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, moving beyond phones and laptops and enhancing everyday objects. Earphones adapt to moods, mattresses provide sleep coaching, and even more. These advancements showcase a significant rise in the IQ of common devices, highlighting the increasing integration of AI into hardware. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads As the line between the physical and digital world blurs, the next frontier in GenAI will be about machines that sense, think and act in real just phones and laptops, AI is making many other devices earphones that adapt to your mood to mattresses that coach you to sleep better, everyday objects are getting a serious IQ are the global trends in AI in hardware space? Subhrojit Mallick and Himanshi Lohchab decode.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Meet your new human resource executive: AI
The human resource sector has been one of the early adopters of GenAI tech solving several challenges, mainly in recruiting. With multimodal capabilities, AI has become the new hiring assistant which can screen resumes, do a pre-hiring video chat and help candidates prep for interviews. ETtech Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories GenAI has reduced companies' timeto-hire as it can now assess candidate fit considering both skill and non-skill factors (example, cultural fit). However, bias and ethics are some of the bugs which autonomous HR systems still struggle to overcome. ET's Himanshi Lohchab curates how GenAI is changing the recruitment process and tools
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
The AI impact: Rethink, rework, reboot
Executives say the traditional relationship between headcount and revenue growth will no longer be linear as AI boosts employee productivity. AI is nudging the largest IT companies as well as the engineers, to go back to the drawing board and rethink skills and strategy. Prachi Verma, Himanshi Lohchab & Annapurna Roy decode Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence and automation is reshaping India's technology hiring landscape, with entry-level workers getting impacted the most. As AI takes over basic testing, coding, and web development tasks, engineering graduates may no longer be the bulk pick for IT firms. Instead, some Tier-3 colleges are noting enhanced selective recruitment with added rounds of screening and assessments during placements. The bottom layer of the hiring pyramid is shrinking with IT companies reporting lowest-ever fresh hires, as they sharpen focus on tapping skilled mid-level AI/ML say the traditional relationship between headcount and revenue growth will no longer be linear as AI boosts employee productivity. The scenario is further compounded by an accelerated talent drain towards global capability centres (GCCs) which offer lucrative salaries and experts believe that as AI automation and sophistication grows, fewer people may be needed for entry-level tasks. IT services firms hired between 60,000 and 70,000 freshers in FY24—the lowest intake in two decades—according to FY20 and FY25, while revenues at seven large-cap and 10 mid-cap IT firms collectively surged by around 60%, their headcount expanded by 33%, showed data shared by specialist staffing firm Xpheno. At the same time, for every rupee spent on employees, companies were generating `1.77 in revenue in 2020, which climbed onlymarginally to `1.82 in 2025, the data means that productivity shifts are not visible evidently yet, though this may change soon. C Vijayakumar, MD undefined what we saw in the last 30 years is a fairly linear scaling…. we have been challenging our teams on how you can deliver twice the revenue with half the people,' he said. 'As AI takes up more rule-based entry-level work, it would be wise to assume that the diamond structure will only get further sharper,' noted Kamal Karanth, cofounder at Xpheno. 'The new talent distribution structure does and will have a big-fat-middle layer.'Educational institutions are also experiencing a transition in campus placements, especially among IT firms who are more 'cautious' and rigorous with their hiring processes. 'Campuses are witnessing delayed offer rollouts, reduced intake and a growing emphasis on pre-placement internships/skill assessments as filters,' said Manoj Kumar Pandey, director at Amity School of Engineering & Technology. 'The demand for entry-level roles is declining. Instead of bulk hiring, firms are now opting for selective recruitment, targeting people with niche skills,' said largest IT company TCS highlighted that 40% of its new hires are trained in advanced technologies—up from 17% last year. And half of lateral hires possess digital or Gen AI experience, the Tata Group company said in an analysts' call earlier this month. On their part, students are also beefing up the resumes to fetch higher salary packages. They are contributing to open-source projects, building AI models, and publishing GitHub repositories. 'Companies are expecting the students to help fields to handle AI tools. However, programming skills are still a must have. AI skills are considered essay flair on the basic skills,' said Ebin M Manuel, placement officer, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, in Kottayam, Pandey said earlier, solving a few coding questions could have been considered sufficient for entry-level hires. However, companies are currently focusing on system design during technical rounds, which was not the norm previously. Recruiters are adding real-time debugging or whiteboard sessions. 'Many organisations are introducing complex tests,' said Maya Nair, ED, Elixir Consulting at global talent firm GI Group Holding. 'Emphasis is being given to demonstrating problem-solving skills and critical thinking.' But others believe hiring at lower levels will continue unabated to manage costs as margins are under unfolding scenario is compounded by a rising skill gap. 'The rapid growth of GCCs has resulted in a talent drain from traditional IT firms, particularly in Tier-1 cities. There's a shortage of 200,000 skilled professionals in areas like AI, cloud, and cybersecurity,' said Krishna Vij, VP at TeamLease Digital. Staffing firm Quess says emerging tech roles are being offered 30-50% higher salaries in GCCs than in IT services companies, with entry-level roles offering up to `11.8 lakh annually. 'As the GCC workforce in India is projected to reach 2.5 million by 2030, IT firms must evolve from being service providers to strategic talent destinations,' said Kapil Joshi, CEO at Quess IT Staffing.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
VCs should understand that AI is a ‘product', not a ‘company': Ronnie Screwvala
Live Events The use of genAI tools in education must not be viewed as a 'cheat sheet' to bypass the efforts, said Ronnie Screwvala , co-founder and chairperson of edtech firm UpGrad tells Himanshi Lohchab .While AI can solve reasoning-heavy questions for students of IITs and PHDs, he cautioned against using AI merely as a shortcut. 'We shouldn't repeat the mistake we did with K-12,' he warned. 'Look at Chegg in the US; once a $14 billion company, now worth less than the cash they have on hand. That model fell apart because students weren't learning; they were just bypassing effort.''There was a moment where everyone thought doubt solving was the next big thing. At one point, Byju's was looking to acquire DoubtNut for $100 million. But very quickly, it became clear that it's not as unique anymore; AI can handle that task easily, and at scale,' noted veteran filmmaker, investor and first generation entrepreneur believes that soon, 'AI will become our cofounders.''In the workplace, you need pragmatism. And that's what AI offers—less emotion, more transparency. Of course, to some people, the idea of an AI cofounder might sound scary. But imagine this, no work-life balance debates, no emotional conflicts, no sulking cofounder drama. Just pure clarity and decision-making support. That's a huge advantage,' he clarified that AI is a 'product' and not a 'company'. So, while venture capitalists chase the next unicorn, several may lose money since they are still trying to understand what exactly they're investing in, he said.'The problem is, in the startup world, ambitions get mixed. People think AI needs to be a company. But in most cases, it's not ready for that yet. And developing that product without the pressure of setting up a company can be liberating. But in India, the mindset is still 'I need to register a company, raise funding, and show scale.''He also projected that AI would disrupt career paths by making workforces multidimensional. 'I genuinely believe people will start having dual roles, not necessarily two paid jobs, but engagements with different ideas, companies, or industries.''The old question used to be, 'What happens if I don't have domain expertise and want to switch fields?' That fear is slowly fading. You'll still need expertise, but AI is now enabling people to straddle domains, making that leap more accessible.' He added that UpGrad's U&AI certification program which aims to make 1 million professionals AI-ready by 2025 is a strong example of this demand. The `499 course fetched 6000 enrolments within days, he however, highlighted that large organisations are still unwilling to accept the shift. 'HR teams in most companies are built to harmonise, keep things smooth. They're not built to encourage chaos or experimentation. If you suggest someone go out, take a sabbatical, explore a creative path, the answer is usually no.'Asked about the threat to the entertainment industry with AI now being able to write lyrics, compose music and generate visuals, Screwvala said, 'AI can't inject emotion, which is the heart of storytelling. But it can prompt, polish, and help you be more efficient.' He added that creators can now write for 20 languages at once. 'AI helps with localisation without sounding dubbed. Although voice artists may be worried, their voice will now have premium value. Instead of charging `1,000 per hour, they could charge `10,000 for the source training,' he said.
