Human mind most powerful instrument invented by God: Narayana Murthy on AI replacing coders

Murthy recalled a similar situation when in 1975 a set of tools were introduced called “case tools”, which were feared to displace jobs in the area of software development. “It didn't happen... When that technology of case tools and programme generators were invented, human beings said we want to attack bigger problems, more complex problems and those tools couldn't handle them,” he explained.

The tech veteran said some people used some of these tools as assistive technologies. “And the software industry globally exploded.” He further said that the concern about job loss should be replaced by discussions, debates, and thinking on how AI, generative AI, large language models, and other such nascent technologies could be used as assistive tools to make human beings even more productive.

At a press briefing later, Murthy gave an example of how reconciling ledger in banks would take a long time, when the number of customers were small. This has been automated with the development of technology and rapid expansion of banking services.

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“So, there will be tasks like autonomous driving… where jobs will be replaced for the betterment of humankind, however, in the rest of the areas that shouldn’t be a worry as long as human mind, which is the most flexible, uses these technologies,” Murthy told reporters.

On May 15, the Infosys Science Foundation also said it has lowered the upper age limit for the Infosys Prize winners from to 40 years from 50, "to reward potential and recognise the promise of future achievement.”