Infosys co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani has warned that AI is fundamentally transforming the nature of technology jobs, with traditional coding set to lose its central role in software development and IT services.
Speaking at Infosys‘ Investor Day on February 17, Nilekani described the AI shift as a “root-and-branch” change, unlike previous transitions such as mobile or cloud computing, which added layers to existing systems. Instead, AI demands a complete rethink of customer journeys, business processes, operating models, and organisational structures.
The end of coding as the primary goal
“This is a huge challenge for talent,” Nilekani said. “Talent will have to deal with a world where writing code will not be the goal, it will be actually making AI work. So, the jobs will change and operating model (too).”
He emphasised that the future lies in skills like AI engineering, agent orchestration, and managing non-deterministic systems, where the same prompt can produce varying outcomes rather than manual coding or traditional development.
Nilekani highlighted a growing gap between AI’s rapid advancements and enterprises’ ability to deploy it effectively. He stressed the urgent need to modernise legacy systems to enable meaningful AI adoption, noting that without this foundation, companies risk falling behind despite powerful models becoming available.
“The technology is far ahead of its deployment. Model performance is going up, but progress in implementing is not really there because implementing this is hard stuff. Fundamentally, it’s about organisational change, business change, retraining your people, changing your data so it’s no longer in silos,” Nilekani added.
New jobs roles emerge in the AI era
While acknowledging the disruption, Nilekani pointed to new opportunities emerging in the AI era. Roles such as AI engineers, forward deployment engineers, forensic analysts, and data-centric positions, many of which did not exist a few years ago, are gaining prominence. He described the upcoming talent transformation as “huge,” urging the industry to reskill workforces to bridge from traditional QA testing and development to these evolving domains.
As India’s IT sector navigates this pivotal transition, Nilekani’s message is clear – adaptation through reskilling and embracing AI as a core competency will be essential for professionals and enterprises to thrive rather than face obsolescence.