Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing work faster than organisations can redesign it, forcing businesses to rethink talent models, leadership and workforce capabilities as intelligence becomes increasingly accessible, industry leaders at the Nasscom People Summit said on Tuesday.
Across discussions led by Chief People Officer at Cognizant Kathy Diaz, TCS Chief Human Resources Officer Sudeep Kunnumal and Lumen India's Managing Director Soumitra Saha, a common theme emerged: while AI is rapidly transforming how work is executed, long-term business success will depend on organisations that strengthen human capabilities such as judgement, critical thinking, adaptability and continuous learning rather than treating AI solely as a technology deployment.
Shift From Job Descriptions To Capability Architectures
Kathy Diaz opened the discussion by arguing that AI is fundamentally changing the architecture of work itself. She said organisations must move beyond static job descriptions towards dynamic capability profiles as AI reshapes nearly every function within the enterprise.
She noted that 93 per cent of jobs will be impacted by AI, even as AI simultaneously democratises access to expertise. As specialised knowledge becomes more widely available through AI systems, she argued that organisations will increasingly value interdisciplinary thinking, creativity and human judgement. Traditional career paths are also becoming less relevant.
Instead of employees occupying fixed roles for years, work is increasingly being decomposed into tasks that can be redistributed across people and AI systems. That shift, Diaz said, also requires continuous and adaptive learning, noting that 80 per cent of learning and development programmes are unable to keep pace with the speed of technological change.
Business Value Will Depend On Human Capability
Building on that message, TCS CHRO Sudeep Kunnumal said organisations must continuously evolve alongside technological change rather than viewing AI adoption as a one-time initiative.
According to Kunnumal, businesses should internalise change instead of reacting to it, as opportunities continue to evolve rapidly. He said that organisations should create environments where experimentation is encouraged, even if it involves "rewarding failure" as part of the innovation process.
Kunnumal also pointed to AI's potential to improve citizen services, strengthen women's empowerment initiatives and enable grassroots innovation. Referring to initiatives such as youth AI hackathons, he said technology can create opportunities even for individuals with limited prior exposure to AI.
When Intelligence Becomes Abundant, Judgment Becomes Scarce
Soumitra Saha, Managing Director at Lumen India, argued that AI is fundamentally changing what organisations should value in employees. "When intelligence becomes abundant, judgement becomes scarce," he said, noting that information is now readily available while the ability to make sound decisions remains distinctly human.
He identified four capabilities that organisations should increasingly prioritise: critical thinking and judgement, customer obsession, curiosity that enables people to connect ideas across disciplines, and an ethical mindset.
Saha also said employees will need stronger problem-framing abilities instead of simply solving predefined problems.
Alongside technical skills, he highlighted emotional intelligence, and the ability to continuously learn, unlearn and relearn as becoming central workplace capabilities.
Human Transition Is The Harder Transformation
Returning to the broader organisational challenge, Diaz argued that while AI deployment can happen quickly, changing human behaviour takes considerably longer.
Technology implementation, she said, can redefine tasks and remove administrative burdens within weeks. The more difficult transition involves helping employees move beyond fear towards confidence, enabling them to recognise how AI can improve individual performance rather than replace it.
She said organisations must therefore focus on building psychological comfort alongside technical capability. That requires what she described as radical transparency, radical clarity and radical caring from leadership.
The future workplace, Diaz added, will depend on a few pillars: stronger organisational capability, effective collaboration between humans and AI, and leaders who continuously learn, unlearn and relearn alongside their teams. |
