As companies increasingly fold artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations, the fallout is already surfacing in the job market.

Tech-sector layoffs crossed 100,000 worldwide in the first five months of 2026, according to tracker TrueUp with tech giants like Oracle, Meta, Cloudflare and Amazon slashing thousands of jobs across continents through a single email.

When it comes to India, statistics present a mixed bag of hopes, opportunities and fears for the youth when it comes to AI and its applied uses.

A 2026 report titled ‘State of Working India’ by Azim Premji University shows nearly 40% graduates among the 15-to-25-year-olds are unemployed while 20% graduates among 25-29-year-olds are unemployed. Even during the Q1 mass lay offs by Oracle, Amazon and Meta, India remained one of the regions hit.

Also Read: Exclusive: “Waive Income Tax on AI Layoff Severance”: Kavitha Kalvakuntla

Yet, another report from Stanford University titled ‘2026 AI Index Report’ states that India leads in global AI skill penetration and accounts for the world’s second highest number of identified AI authors and inventors. India also ranked fourth globally with 108 newly funded AI companies set up in 2025 and fifth in Global AI investment at $4.09 Billion, as per the report.

Yet the same Stanford AI Index 2026 report states that India ranks high in brain-drain when it comes to AI talent. Another Ipsos AI monitor survey registers India with the sharpest rise in anxiety/concern (14% rise) related to AI usage.

Graduates today are fearing that AI might impact the entry level market for STEM based job opportunities in India. Whether AI would make or break careers is something that is difficult for market pundits to predict at the moment.

Speaking at length on this issue, Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Delhi, gave an exclusive interview to AI FrontPage correspondent Supriya Singh, wherein he shared his insights on the threats and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and how students can defeat anxiety related to AI induced joblessness.

IIT Delhi, one of India’s premier institutes for science and technology, has been making inroads in AI research. Last year, IIT Delhi along with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched ‘Adi Vaani’, India’s first AI powered translator for tribal languages. The institute runs its AI research initiatives under Yardi School of AI, named after its alumnus Anant Yardi, who has contributed over Rs 150 crore.

On Wednesday, IIT Delhi celebrated its ‘Central Research Facility (CRF) Day.

Published below are excerpts from the interview.

Question: How do you see AI transforming higher education over the next five years

Professor Banerjee: In the case of AI things are moving quite fast.. We have to see how to integrate AI into our education system and our knowledge systems. We have created a committee of faculties, students and staff to work on the guidelines and on the ethical use of AI in education, which is something that will evolve. But I do feel that human intelligence along with the help of AI can provide the desired growth and result in the future.

Question: There are concerns that AI may replace many entry-level jobs. How should institutes like IIT should prepare for that shift?

Professor Banerjee: Every student in our institute is getting exposure to AI irrespective of the course. One should not be threatened by AI, instead they should embrace it. Some jobs get replaced, new jobs get created. We provide our students with the ability to analyse problems and to be flexible and have life long learning so that they can change their directions. This is a challenge and we are looking at ways, so that we can integrate better with industries to see what is the nature of future jobs.

Question: What message would you like to give students who are anxious about AI replacing human skills and jobs?

Professor Banerjee: Anxiety helps no one. Despite whatever we say about AI and modern technology, the problem of the world still remains. You know what is happening in terms of the security situation, climate change, and extreme events. We do need human ingenuity to solve these problems. If we are able to think and look at reality and problems there are jobs and opportunities.

Question: How AI is being currently used at IIT-Delhi 

Professor Banerjee: AI is currently being used in terms of research at the institute. For example researchers in the civil engineering department have developed a proprietary AI based tool that helps design custom glass by suggesting the right combination of materials to achieve desired properties.

There are so many tribal languages such as Santhali, Bhili,Gondi and all of these languages do not have that much support, so we have created an AI based tool called Adi Vaani, which is the country’s first AI-powered translator for tribal languages.  It basically converts voice to texts, texts to texts, basically converting it to English, Hindi. Adi Vaani is designed to bridge communication gaps between tribal and non-tribal communities. The benefits of AI are also reaching out to tribal communities. This was launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in a project supported by IIT Delhi and other leading institutes. 

Question: Can you tell us more about the Central Research Facility and how it focuses on AI research? 

Professor Banerjee: The goal of CRF is to provide 24/7 access to researchers and students within IIT and across the country through an online system where people can book slots and do their research. The equipment acquired through a project should not remain restricted to a single researcher or laboratory but it should be accessible to all and for this purpose we have created a Central Research Facility.

Today, there is growing discussion around how AI can now replace some of these equipment. However for AI and AI models, you need to have data sets for validation, real experiments. AI can enable and support a lot of things which come along with the equipment, so it’s like a hybrid. You use AI and you use your experiments and then you can get better results.

Also Read: IIT Delhi to Expand AI Research with Yardi’s ₹75 Crore Donation