Infosys Chairman Nilekani Predicts Growing Demand for Human Skills in Era of AI Adoption

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani Asserts AI Will Boost Demand for Human Capability

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani has stated that the increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will lead to an escalation in demand for human capability, rather than a reduction. This assertion is made in the company's FY26 annual report, where Nilekani highlights the pivotal role of IT services companies in facilitating the integration of AI into existing enterprise systems.

According to Nilekani, the technology industry is undergoing one of its most significant transformations, with enterprises struggling to scale AI deployments. However, he argues that the demand for human capability will grow, rather than shrink, as enterprises require workers with first-principles thinking and a deeper understanding of underlying concepts to effectively utilize AI tools.

Nilekani cites a World Economic Forum report, which suggests that 92 million jobs could be displaced globally by 2030, while 170 million new jobs could be created, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs. He emphasizes that while AI will undoubtedly bring about productivity gains, there is much more to be done in the software development life cycle, including testing, validation, and architecture design.

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Enterprises are facing a deployment gap rather than an opportunity gap in AI adoption, with companies struggling to integrate AI into legacy systems and governance structures. Nilekani attributes this to the challenges posed by moving from pilot to scale, which is often hindered by legacy architecture, organizational inertia, and jurisdictions whose rules are still being written.

Infosys is preparing its workforce for this transition through large-scale AI skilling and redeployment initiatives. The company has enabled 84 percent of its workforce on AI and recruited more than 20,000 college graduates in FY26. Additionally, enterprises are increasingly looking at AI-led legacy modernization, cybersecurity upgrades, and technical debt reduction, creating a significant business opportunity for IT services firms.

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Nilekani highlights the importance of trusted technology partners with deep client relationships and execution capabilities in helping enterprises blend AI models and agents with traditional enterprise systems. He asserts that the future enterprise will be enabled by those firms that have built long and trusted client relationships, have a successful track record of execution, and can seamlessly integrate the old with the new.

Infosys has achieved a major milestone by crossing $20 billion in annual revenue during FY26 and securing large deal wins worth $14.9 billion during the year, as per the company's annual report.