Artificial Intelligence (AI) is placing professionals who rely on cognitive skills at the highest risk of job replacement, a fundamental change from previous technological shifts, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday. Speaking at FICCI's AI India Conclave, Krishnan explained that because AI is now directly challenging cognitive labour, white-collar workers are the most vulnerable to being automated out of their positions. "If you looked at previous industrial revolutions the kind of change that they engineered, most of that change was around automating physical, manual work. For the first time, AI is actually replacing cognitive work. So it's people who work with their minds who are at the greatest risk of replacement by AI," the Secretary noted. Despite the threat of displacement, Krishnan emphasised AI's significant power to boost productivity, particularly across developing economies like India. He argued that the potential for creating new job opportunities through ...