"Don't Believe Technology Will Take Away Jobs": Narayana Murthy

 BENGALURU: Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will not leave people without jobs in the far future, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has said. AI and machine learning will on the contrary create more opportunities for humans, said the information technology industrialist.

"AI definitely is a very important topical area of computer sciences. AI, machine learning, big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), these are all areas which are likely to make the lives of human beings even more comfortable," Mr Murthy said.

Giving the example of the US, the UK and Japan, which embraced technology early on, he said these countries have been able to reduce unemployment rate to a single digit.

According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report, the rapid evolution of machines and algorithms in the workplace could create 133 million new roles in place of 75 million that will be displaced by 2022.

"If you observe the economic history of this world, in the last 50 years when computers started playing a bigger role, you can realise that those countries that absorb technology more enthusiastically have reduced their unemployment much more than those which did not embrace technology," Mr Murthy said.

He dismissed the theory that technology leaves people unemployed. "It is not really true. What technology does is it provides an opportunity for human beings to move from drudgery tasks to tasks that require more and more human touch," he added.

Mr Murthy said ATMs are a classic example of technology making human lives easier as they have removed "this whole drudgery of tellers" and brought the convenience of withdrawing money from a nearby machine whenever you want, and at any time.

"I am not a believer that technology will render societies into a state of higher and higher unemployment," he said on the sidelines of the Infosys Prize ceremony on Saturday.