Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has endorsed the adoption of artificial intelligence in India, highlighting its potential to boost productivity, while expressing concerns over widespread job losses. In his opinion piece, he discusses the differing impacts on developed and developing economies and calls for measures to align technology with employability. He questions what role humans will play if AI handles most work.
Artificial intelligence is poised to enhance human capabilities and productivity, according to P Chidambaram, a former finance minister and senior Congress leader. In his column published on February 22, 2026, he acknowledges Prime Minister Narendra Modi's view that AI will open doors to the future and fortune. However, Chidambaram warns of fears surrounding job displacement, particularly in routine roles such as ticket issuers, bus conductors, stenographers, and bank tellers.
He references a summary of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's essay, which predicts AI could disrupt labour markets at unprecedented speed, affecting white-collar jobs. A study in India indicates AI can recognize caste, raising concerns about embedded biases. Examples include Microsoft's automation of white-collar tasks leading to thousands of job cuts in 2025, and Tata Consultancy Services releasing over 12,000 employees that year. Investor Vinod Khosla forecasts the elimination of IT services and near-disappearance of BPO firms within five years.
India faces a 5.1% official unemployment rate, with youth unemployment at 15%, and 55% of the employed in self-employment or casual labour. Chidambaram notes India's demographic dividend is burdened by declining school enrolment beyond primary levels and a gross enrolment ratio in higher education of 45-50%, where many degrees fail to equip graduates for employment.
The Chief Economic Adviser distinguishes AI's effects: a boon for advanced economies facing demographic decline, but a stress test for developing nations like India. Chidambaram advocates for creating diverse jobs, separating academic and vocational streams in higher secondary education, closing ineffective 'pass' courses, and investing in education, healthcare, and environment. He emphasizes supporting MSMEs, which create most jobs, and requires AI adopters to generate equivalent employment. India needs at least 80 lakh jobs annually, he states.
Chidambaram ponders a dystopian future with fewer jobs, asking what humans will do if AI brings prosperity but eliminates work, a defining human activity.
