When AI Hires and Fires

AI isn’t knocking on the door; it’s already inside the office. Whether it is social media content, the sale of products at companies, or even recruitment processes, it does it all. For business professionals, AI is a hero. Tasks get completed faster, at cheaper rates, and even more efficiently. However, for workers, it might be becoming a job snatcher. It makes them wonder about what it can do and fear about how it might replace them.

In India, a nation with a large share of a professionally evolving youth population, this shift feels personal. AI could help the country grow, but it could just as easily further elevate the gap between skilled and unskilled workers.

The Efficiency Illusion

AI is changing how work gets done. It’s helping companies move faster, make fewer mistakes, and save more money. A McKinsey report says automation and AI together could add about $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. In India, experts believe it could increase the GDP by nearly $500 billion by 2025. A similar situation is also present in companies like TCS and HDFC Bank that use AI tools to plan projects, finish work faster, study credit data, and make quicker lending decisions.

It’s clear that AI is helping businesses work smarter. But faster and cheaper doesn’t always mean better for everyone. When profits grow but wages don’t, it creates a situation that economists call “productivity without prosperity.” AI might be making companies stronger, but the benefits aren't spread evenly. 

The Human Cost

Whenever technology moves forward, it shakes up jobs. Some disappear, some change, and new ones appear. AI is doing the same thing, only faster. The World Economic Forum says around 83 million jobs could vanish by 2030, while roughly 69 million new ones might show up instead. The problem arises when the people losing work aren’t the ones getting these new roles.

In India, a large part of the working class depends on routine jobs like customer support, data entry, and retail counters. Such tasks are the ones that AI-driven chatbots and programs can handle with ease. This makes them easy targets for automation. On the other hand, areas like data analysis, AI engineering, and machine learning are gaining momentum. NASSCOM reports that openings in these areas have jumped about 44 percent since 2022. The trouble is training. Programs like Skill India and courses run by big tech firms help, but not everyone can afford to join them. If India doesn’t bridge this gap soon, the workforce could split in two: those who command AI and those controlled by it.

Managed by Machines

Not long ago, getting a job meant impressing a person, but now it often starts with impressing a program. AI has quietly moved into the HR department, becoming the invisible gatekeeper that decides who even gets to the interview stage. It sorts resumes, studies speech patterns, and flags “ideal” candidates in seconds. Efficiency? Definitely. Fairness? Not always.

In 2018, Amazon learned that the hard way. Its experimental hiring algorithm began scoring women lower because it was trained on past data dominated by male employees. The system wasn’t sexist on purpose. It just reflected the bias of the world that built it. That’s the real problem with AI in hiring: it doesn’t discriminate out of intent; it discriminates out of imitation.

India’s HR startups are racing to fix that. Some now include fixes such as “bias audits,” where human professionals cross-check the decisions made by the algorithm. Another solution being implemented is the hiding of names, gender, and photos to focus purely on skill. These are promising steps, but they don’t solve the issue at its core. When you apply for a job, you still don’t know how the machine is judging you and on what basis. And it’s not just hiring. In some offices, AI tracks attendance, productivity, and even mood through chat patterns and webcam data. It’s like having a manager who never sleeps. It might be efficient, or it might just be exhausting. The real question is, when work becomes this data-driven, where does human judgment fit in?

Regulating the Revolution

AI is changing the world of work much faster than most policies can keep up. In India, the government’s 'National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence' by NITI Aayog talks about the idea of “AI for All.” The plan focuses on areas that make a difference in daily life, like healthcare, agriculture, education, and smart cities. But policies written on paper only matter if they reach the people who need them most, especially the millions living and working outside big tech hubs. Every country has the same question: how do you keep innovating without leaving people behind? The EU’s AI Act and the U.S. AI Bill of Rights are early steps towards that goal. They focus on making sure AI systems stay transparent, fair, and under human control. India can learn from these examples but will have to shape its own approach. Most of its workers are in the informal sector, and not everyone has the same access to technology or digital skills.

Real change won’t come from policies alone. It will come from how people, businesses, and governments work together. The public and private sectors need to move in sync. One building strong digital infrastructure, the other creating real opportunities to use it. Such a partnership will decide whether AI becomes a tool for empowerment or another divide between the connected and the left-out. In the end, India’s real strength lies in how quickly its people can adapt. With a young population, a digital-first mindset, and a fast-growing tech scene. The challenge isn’t to stop AI but rather to guide it in a way that includes everyone and not just a few.

Beyond Code: Keeping Progress Human

Every few decades, the world meets a technology that doesn’t just change how we work; it changes what work means. Artificial intelligence is that moment for our generation. It’s rewriting the rules of opportunity, skill, and fairness all at once. India now stands at a crossroad. With its young talent and digital drive, it can either lead this transformation or be shaped by it. The real question isn’t if AI will take over the future, but how we choose to guide it. Progress should move fast, yet always in step with the people it’s meant to serve.

Authors: Ahaan Arora and Kritika Bagaria

Illustration: Nicholas H Sharmah