Top 10 Jobs AI Will Eliminate in Indian IT Industry

The IT industry has seen its share of layoffs over the last few months. The big difference in most of the layoffs, it’s in most cases is not performance-related. It’s the very elimination of roles. And for all these, the growing impact of AI is seen as one of the primary contributors. One, the companies are looking at completely new skillsets to align with their AI strategies, the other reason being the elimination of roles with AI taking up tasks. While in an Indian context, the leading companies in the IT services space have not openly commented on AI replacing jobs, but here comes a subtle cue and how AI is disrupting the ways of working globally.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google's parent company, recently disclosed in the company's Q3 2024 earnings call that more than 25% of new code at Google is now generated by AI and this AI-generated code undergoes thorough review by human engineers to ensure quality and accuracy.

Pichai's statement highlights Google's strategic use of AI to enhance productivity, and it signals a major transformation in the coding landscape where AI is becoming an integral part of the development process.

Icing on the Cake

As you read between the lines of the above observation, while humans are in the loop, it is to be seen, in a large team that’s involved in writing code, how many will survive this onslaught is to be seen.

Nevertheless lets here look at what jobs AI will replace in the Indian IT services space and what skills you need to gear up for that eventuality and what action you need to take to stay relevant.

Here are the top 10 roles that AI could potentially impact.

1. Data Entry Operators

• Reason:  You may ask, is this job still relevant, but it does exist in different forms in the industry.  This job is risky because AI-powered tools like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) can completely automate data extraction and input processes.
• Action: By eliminating these roles, organizations will move away from low-level manual work. Professionals in this space, to stay relevant, need to transition to mainstream IT and develop AI skills.

2. Testing and QA Engineers

• Reason: The market is full of AI-enabled testing tools that can perform repetitive testing tasks faster and with higher accuracy and precision.
• Action: Engineers will need to focus on strategy, exploratory testing, and tool management.

3. Tech Support and Help Desk

• Reason: Blame it on the rapid rise of AI chatbots and virtual assistants. They are now handling routine queries and troubleshooting to a large extent.
• Action: Yet again, service agents handling these tasks will face headwinds, and the logical evolution for them to stay in the race depends on how quickly they can find roles that require humanized support for solving complex issues and customer satisfaction strategies.

4. Traditional Infrastructure Management

• Reason: Today we are heading towards what once was called too ambitious by many- self-healing infrastructures. Today AI can do that. It can monitor and maintain IT infrastructure, predict failures, and optimize performance.
• Action: If you are in a traditional infrastructure management role, you are at risk. The survival strategy here is to shift to AI-driven IMS and develop skills in that space.

5. Software Developers

• Reason: Well, this is the bread and butter for many. Even before the rapid escalation of AI, the low-code/no-code platforms have started impacting traditional development practices. Now these platforms powered by AI give the leverage for non-technical users to build basic applications.
• Action: To transition, if you are at the lower end of the developer pyramid, it’s time to level up your skills and be a candidate for human in the loop in the AI value chain with the help of AI you will focus more on complex and customized solutions.

6. Database Administrators

• Reason: Once called a very safe space to park yourself for a long-term career, this domain is in for a shake-up. Today AI tools can manage database optimization, backups, and performance tuning.
• Action: The survival hack here, if you are a DBA, is to pivot to data architecture and strategic data management roles.

7. System Administrators

• Reason: This role has been very synonymous with the industry for the last many decades. But on the threshold of sunset. Today AI can handle routine tasks like server configuration, patching, and monitoring.
• Action: If you are a system admin doing these manual jobs, it’s a matter of time before it will be the domain of AI. Time to concentrate on security, policy creation, and advanced troubleshooting to stay in the game.

8. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

• Reason: While BPO as an industry has changed over the years, still basic jobs such as invoice generation, payroll, and customer queries will be assigned to AI.
• Action: It’s a tricky frontier and one may see rapid rationalization, professionals need to get into more CX roles that demand human intervention and personalized customer satisfaction strategies.

9. Traditional Reporting and Data Analysts Jobs

• Reason: This is a no-brainer. AI-driven tools today can create reports and analyse data faster and with greater precision.
• Action: Survival depends on how quickly you can gain deep data analysis skills and advanced models that can help secure strategic insights with the help of AI tools.

10. Network Engineers

• Reason: Again, this role has been there since the advent of networking. Once coveted, no longer a great career option. Today AI-powered systems can very effectively monitor and optimize network performance, handle configurations, and predict failure issues.
• Action: To stay in the race transition to network design, which involves human expertise, and look at strategic roles like creating network policies and cybersecurity.

Up Ahead

The writing is clear on the wall. Some roles will become redundant and some roles will be reimagined by AI in the IT services industry. The key here for professionals is to predict the headwinds and get into a continuous learning mindset if you are into routine, repetitive, and rule-based tasks.

AI, power by LLM is completely reshaping the workforce. It’s a double-edged sword, with challenges as well as opportunities. The key here is to balance this transformation by getting skills for roles that AI cannot easily replicate, such as problem solving, strategic thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and ethical governance.