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Oxford India Forum: Students should not see AI as challenge but as opportunity, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar
As the world enters the era of generative AI, with tools like ChatGPT and Gemini taking over the world, there is a real fear that these technologies will undermine the future of young students who are currently in colleges or are just coming out of their professional courses. As the Oxford India Forum held a panel discussion on AI and its role in the society, the conversation also addressed these concerns. advertisementThe panel discussion was attended by Rajeev Chandrashekhar, former IT Minister, Sameer Chauhan, Director UNICC, and Vikram Doraiswami, who is the High Commissioner of India in the UK. One of the key questions during the discussion, which was moderated by Prachetas Bhatnagar, who is Head of Strategy and Operations, Policy and Politics at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, revolved around the anxiety among college students regarding the impact of AI on their careers. Replying to a question, Chandrashekhar said that AI would definitely bring big changes. 'AI is going to change the landscape of what we see as work. AI is changing the landscape of what we understand as innovation. (Earlier) I think search in many, many ways changed the dynamics and landscape of talent and who did well and who did not do so well at work,' he said.
Then he elaborated that this would mean stark changes at workplaces. 'AI is going to take (change) to the next level. It's going to be an extremely deep change in the workflows. And the concept of talent and skills at work is going to be reimagined in ways that we cannot today understand,' he said. Yet, within the change there is the opportunity. 'I always tell students, don't underestimate the power of AI or how you will work and how you will succeed or fail,' said Chandrashekhar. 'And don't overestimate the hyperbole of AI and get threatened by it and see this as a challenge rather than an opportunity.'The discussion around AI was not just limited to its impact on careers or on workplaces. In the same discussion, the panelists also discussed the way forward for India as far as deep tech and AI is concerned, the concept of tech sovereignty and the social impact of AI, particularly around misinformation. 'If you think misinformation in the world of social media is a problem, that is going to look like a walk in the park when you see what's going to happen down the road with AI,' said Chandrashekhar.- Ends
