NCP SP leader Rohit Pawar on Thursday voiced serious concern over job losses due to artificial intelligence, reacting to remarks made by renowned AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Pawar said that not only are new jobs failing to keep pace, but even existing jobs across several sectors are at risk of disappearing due to rapid automation. He stated that he has repeatedly raised this issue and noted that Bengio, often referred to as one of the Godfathers of AI, has now echoed similar concerns.
Calling the matter urgent, Pawar urged both the central and state governments to rise above party differences and jointly prepare a concrete policy framework to address the looming employment crisis. He said the issue must be taken seriously by everyone.
Bengio Says Governments Not Doing Enough
Speaking to Moneycontrol during the summit, Bengio said governments around the world are not doing enough to allay public anxiety over job losses. He pointed out that while policymakers often talk about reskilling, the people losing their jobs in the next year or two are not necessarily the same individuals who will find opportunities in the machine learning industry.
Bengio warned that over time, more and more roles are likely to be automated, adding that there is currently no global solution to the problem. Companies too, he said, do not have clear answers.
Growing Debate Over AI And Employment
Bengio, along with Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, won the Turing Award in 2019 for pioneering contributions to deep learning, the technology behind modern AI systems. His comments have reignited debate in India over how prepared governments and industries are to handle large scale employment disruption.
Pawar’s remarks add political weight to a growing global concern that the AI revolution may come at a steep human cost if safeguards are not urgently put in place.
