At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Gita Gopinath, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), discussed the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on India’s workforce, revealing that an estimated 26% of the workforce across various industries is exposed to AI. Of these, 14% are expected to benefit from AI technologies, while 12% will face a displacement effect due to automation.

This aligns with earlier comments made by India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, who emphasized the importance of developing new skills in fields like data sciences and machine learning. The integration of AI across industries is expected to create new job opportunities, but it will also require significant efforts in upskilling the workforce.

Gopinath also discussed the broader economic impact of AI on global productivity, estimating a potential increase of 0.1 to 0.8 percent annually. However, the full effect on economies worldwide will depend on factors such as the pace of technological development and government efforts to facilitate AI adoption.

On global growth, Gopinath projected a steady rate of 3 to 3.5% for 2025/26, but noted significant divergences across regions. She emphasized the need for specific actions in countries like China and Europe to address their respective economic challenges.

Regarding India’s economy, Gopinath acknowledged a slowdown in growth but remained optimistic, attributing it to a temporary dip caused by slow public investment in the aftermath of last year’s elections. She projected a recovery and highlighted the importance of improving infrastructure and easing business regulations to achieve higher growth.