Infosys AGM: Vishal Sikka says AI, automation create opportunities to learn new skills

Moneycontrol NewsNeha Alawadhi

Focusing on the theme of automation and artificial intelligence, Infosys Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka outlined the company’s vision for the future, at its 36^th annual general meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Outlining the changes that the industry is undergoing, Sikka spoke about the “How, What and Why” of adopting greater automation and AI.

“Advances in AI are automating more and more cognitive work that people perform,” he said.

Without directly mentioning job layoffs that have been one of the information technology sector’s biggest issues this year, Sikka said that while automation and AI reduce human workload, they also create an opportunity for the workforce to learn new skills.

The chief of India’s second largest IT outsourcing company likened the growth of AI capabilities to The Cambrian Explosion, an evolutionary event considered most important in the history of life on Earth.

He reiterated that about 65 percent of Infosys’ delivery workforce generates 55 percent of revenues from areas which are rapidly commoditizing. The balance 35 percent of Infosys’ workforce generates 45 percent of revenues.

He highlighted the example of a self-driving golf cart that was developed and run by Infosys employees at the company’s Mysuru campus.

“Autonomous driving is something every automobile company will get into, and we are trying to build talent around this,” Sikka said.

He added that Infosys is part of Toyota Motors’ autonomous cars project, and would look to skill more of its people in such emerging areas, such as drones, robots and cloud.

Infosys also looks after some large government projects, including the Department of Posts, Ministry of Commerce’s portal for company filings and the IT backbone of the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GSTN). Sikka highlighted these among Infosys’ big achievements.

“GSTN is one of the largest open source implementations in the country,” he said.

Sikka began by quoting co-founder Narayana Murthy, who said that there is a need to become problem finders from reactive problem solvers, and reiterated the thought by the end of his speech.