NEW DELHI: The introduction of generative AI has curbed recruitment at entry-level, increased demand for skilled mid-level workers and provided “considerable stability” at senior levels, says an ICRIER study.“The researchers note that this relaxation is consistent with broader post-pandemic trends in the IT industry and is not solely due to the adoption of AI. Roles commonly perceived to be most exposed to AI, such as software developers and database administrators, are also experiencing increased demand. “It is among the roles with the highest growth, indicating that generative AI is primarily acting as a productivity-boosting complement to technical and analytical tasks, rather than a replacement,” said the report, supported by OpenAI and based on a survey of more than 650 people. companies.Roles such as statisticians, mathematicians, application developers, database designers, and administrators had the highest exposure and highest demand, while human resources, legal, and finance professionals had the least. The roles and skills most affected include data entry and clerical tasks, followed by manual testing, manual quality assurance, and entry-level programming.According to the survey, among IT companies’ business functions, software development and engineering are the most affected, followed by IT infrastructure and cloud services, and project management. The report states that the introduction of AI is reshaping hiring priorities towards hybrid skill profiles that combine domain expertise with AI and data-related technical skills, rather than narrow specializations.Half of the companies surveyed said they were investing in raising internal awareness and reskilling their employees, the report said, adding: “However, there is cause for concern that IT companies are not hiring enough people with the skills to run language models at scale or expand their R&D departments, and most Importantly, we are not investing enough in training and upskilling. The lack of qualified AI trainers, limited AI skills for new entrants to the labor market, and policy and regulatory uncertainty around AI are issues that urgently need to be addressed.””
