IIT Madras whitepaper calls for task-based assessment of AI’s impact on jobs
A whitepaper released by the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) under the Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIT Madras examines how AI could transform existing jobs, create new roles and affect different categories of workers.
Titled ‘How AI Is Reconfiguring Work in India: A Task-Based Framework for Understanding Augmentation, Displacement, New Roles and the Changing Structure of Jobs’, the paper was released during the Industry Conclave on AI Governance 2026.
The researchers said the impact of AI on employment would depend on the nature of tasks, technological capabilities, implementation costs, regulatory requirements and how organisations restructure their operations.
Prof Balaraman Ravindran, Head of CeRAI and WSAI at IIT Madras, said the assumption that AI would inevitably eliminate jobs overlooked the fact that most occupations comprise multiple tasks, of which only some could be automated.
The paper identifies different ways in which humans and AI can work together, including situations where AI performs tasks under human supervision and those where people retain decision-making responsibilities while using AI to improve productivity.
It also highlights the role of what the researchers describe as ‘AI-cost geography’, under which the cost of AI tools and advanced systems influences their adoption across industries, businesses and regions.
Affordable AI applications could spread rapidly in areas such as business process outsourcing, bookkeeping and quality inspection in small and medium enterprises. However, applications requiring advanced AI capabilities, including legal services and medical image analysis, could remain concentrated in larger companies and urban centres with better technological infrastructure and skilled personnel, the paper said.
Drawing on examples from call centres, manufacturing, banking, software development, legal services and creative industries, the study examines how AI adoption could affect workers differently, including new entrants, experienced employees, formal and informal workers, and people in urban and rural areas.
The researchers stressed that redesigning jobs and creating new roles to manage and support AI systems would be as important as adopting the technology.
They also highlighted concerns about whether entry-level opportunities and career progression pathways would be affected.
The paper recommends promoting affordable, task-specific AI tools, particularly for small businesses; investing in research to assess AI’s effects on Indian jobs and skills; and creating clear pathways for workers to acquire new skills and transition into emerging roles.
Dr Gokul S Krishnan, Research Director at CeRAI, said the consequences of AI adoption would depend on how organisations reorganised work and addressed issues relating to cost, capability, regulation, safety and accountability.
