Microsoft India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok, speaking at the Microsoft AI Tour in India, has said that the current generation will be the last to experience stable, long-term careers because of the rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI). Chandok remains positive that AI will not steal jobs, but he did say that 'refusal to learn' will lead to pink slips. The event also featured Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who was on a visit to India.
Chandok says AI will dissect jobs, not steal them
Chandok stressed that AI itself will not take away jobs entirely. Instead, it will break down and redistribute tasks within existing roles.“Will AI steal jobs? I don’t think AI will steal jobs. It will dissect jobs. It will unbundle jobs,” he explained.
He noted that the traditional pattern from the industrial age, learning a skill once and using it for an entire career, is coming to an end as AI spreads across all sectors.
Chandok stresses that refusal to learn is the real threat
Chandok warned that the biggest risk to employment in the AI era is not automation, but the unwillingness to keep learning new skills. “The real pink slip in this new AI era is not automation. That is what we are worried about. The real pink slip is refusal to learn,” he said.
He compared continuous learning to an oxygen mask, adding, “We are fighting guerrilla warfare against irrelevance every day. In a reference to air pollution in Delhi, he remarked that no one understands the need for oxygen masks better than residents of the city.
Chandok also mentioned that future careers will be a portfolio of roles
Chandok predicted a shift away from lifelong single careers. “You and I are the last generation to have stable, long-term careers,” he stated, adding that “our kids will do a portfolio of things.”
Microsoft has laid off thousands of employees globally through multiple rounds, affecting various teams (sales, gaming, engineering) and locations, primarily driven by AI restructuring.
Microsoft's big bet on India
The company recently also announced an investment of $17.5 billion in India from 2026 to 2029 to expand AI and cloud infrastructure, skilling, and operations. PM Modi praised the move, highlighting India’s youth as key to leveraging AI for a better planet. The investment will boost India’s AI ecosystem, focusing on scale, skills, and sovereignty, with new hyperscale data centers and expanded cloud regions.
