Andrew Ng, the AI pioneer who co‑founded Coursera, told a packed auditorium of students and professionals at the NDTV World Summit on 20 September 2023 that the fear of an AI‑driven job apocalypse is overblown.
Ng said the current generation of generative models still lack the breadth and reliability to replace the majority of the workforce, and that their primary effect will be to boost productivity.
He backed his claim with data from Indeed Hiring Lab, which showed a 15 % jump in U.S. software‑development job postings between the launch of Claude Code in late February 2025 and June 2026, even as overall job listings fell by 7 %.
The 2025 World Economic Forum report projects that, by 2030, technology will create 170 million jobs and displace 92 million, netting 78 million more roles worldwide.
Ng warned that preparing workers for the AI‑enabled economy will require up‑skilling programs that anticipate future job profiles, rather than merely teaching current tools.
The summit committee announced it will convene a working group in October to draft a national framework for AI workforce development.