AI will reshape jobs, not replace them, says Microsoft India president Puneet Chandok

Artificial intelligence will not eliminate jobs but will radically reshape how work is structured, Microsoft’s India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok said, warning that the biggest professional risk in the AI era will be the refusal to continuously learn and adapt.

Speaking at the Microsoft AI Tour on Friday, Chandok said AI is more likely to “unbundle” existing roles rather than replace them outright. He argued that tasks within jobs will increasingly be broken down and redistributed between humans and machines, changing the very definition of careers.

Challenging the traditional model of lifelong employment built on a fixed skill set, Chandok said the industrial-age approach to work is no longer sustainable. He noted that current professionals may be the last generation to experience relatively stable, long-term careers, while future workers are likely to pursue multiple skill-based roles over time instead of following a single linear path.

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Stressing the importance of lifelong learning, Chandok said automation itself is not the real threat to employment. Instead, he described resistance to upskilling as the true danger in an AI-driven economy. Comparing learning to an oxygen mask, he said professionals must continuously equip themselves to remain relevant, likening the urgency to Delhi residents’ lived experience of air pollution.

The event also featured an address by Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who broadened the discussion to the evolution of artificial intelligence technologies. Nadella suggested that as AI models mature, they could increasingly become commoditised, shifting competitive advantage toward how effectively organisations use their data.

Nadella, who is on a three-day visit to India, emphasised that data will remain the most critical asset for companies deploying AI at scale, particularly when used in context at the experience layer. He highlighted real-world applications of Microsoft’s AI tools, including a cyber safety initiative with the Maharashtra government in Nagpur that has reportedly cut investigation turnaround times in cybercrime cases by 80%.

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According to Microsoft, the AI-enabled platform is currently operational across 23 police stations in Nagpur, with plans underway to extend it to all 1,100 police stations across Maharashtra.

Nadella also pointed to growing enterprise adoption of AI in India, citing ongoing collaborations with organisations such as Adani Cement, Yes Bank, the Aditya Birla Group and LTIMindtree. The initiatives reflect how AI is increasingly being embedded across industries, from manufacturing and banking to public safety and IT services.