Will Generative AI Replace White-Collar Work in India?

The emergence of generative AI and the use of advanced large language models (LLMs) have sparked a deep division concerning future white-collar occupations. In India, a country where the size and the growth of white-collar employees are large and escalating every year, this discussion attains greater importance.

- ARAVIND PUTREVU

As India is currently in a situation of being transformed by changing technology, it is important to factor in how generative AI may affect the traditional white-collar jobs.

White-collar work usually involves work in management, delegation, strategic planning, program management, project management, analysis, and so on, which in turn do not involve hard work but intellectual work. These jobs are traditionally shielded against automation because of their complexity and necessary traveling, decision making, and dynamic solutions.

Nevertheless, due to the innovations of generative AI, various white collar fields remain unprocessed yet can be subjected to automation at least to some extent.

It is paramount to mention that in cases where a clear context and specific prompts are given, generative AI will be excellent at performing specific yet clear tasks. The strengths of these AI systems are their high-level of data processing, pattern detection, the automation of workflows, and high-efficiency levels of repeated operations. Nevertheless, they rely to an extent on human monitoring and planning to achieve results that are meaningful, accurate, and ethically viable.

The best example is the case of program management.

The size of large-scale projects used to be supported by a great number of people engaged in logistical monitoring, work design, task delegation, and regular check-in. These process-heavy areas can be reduced considerably now that generative AI has entered the sphere.