Kochi: Concerns over job loss due to automation in various sectors could be exaggerated due to the hype over technological advancements, former Reserve Bank of India governor, Raghuram Rajan, said here on Friday.
Referring to forecasts of artificial general intelligence (AGI) taking over human jobs, Rajan said the fear has been there since the 1960s.
"We always believe that it (AGI) is coming. But it is always in the future.... The fear of job loss is overstated, partly due to this hype," he said.
However, Rajan said India cannot miss out on the global advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics.
"We (India) have to be prepared for the world is coming to us," he said, delivering the keynote address at #FUTURE global summit, organised by the Kerala government.
For the past 30 years, there has been a steady loss of jobs all over the world, especially in the routine and unskilled sectors, due to automation. “Automation has hit high-income sectors as well of late," he said.
Human beings have to adapt to the changing technologies to overcome the challenges of automation. “We have to move faster than we are moving today if we want to reap the benefits of the emerging technologies,” he said.
"Ever since the industrial revolution, there has been this fear of machines taking over man," he said, adding, human beings were able to adapt to the changing situations, overcoming fears of unemployment.
He said factors such as human flexibility, security concerns, politics and higher cost would delay the automation of jobs.
Rajan said in the future “there would be humans augmenting machines”.
He stressed the need for reforms in education and skill-building to overcome the challenges posed by technological advancements.
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