We should look at AI as a companion for productivity, and not a threat.
Humans and machines offer essential, complementary strengths.
Future generations should use AI to enhance individual passions.
The general sentiment towards AI has been a mix of both good and bad. While one side of the crowd says that AI is helping them become more productive and achieve more. The other side is still a bit hesitant, as the counterargument is that AI can replace people, leading to an industry-wide job loss situation.
SurveyBut, among all this, the founding director of BharatGen, Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, has a different view altogether. I recently had a very insightful conversation with him during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where we spoke regarding the AI landscape of India and how it’s going to change a lot of things for everyone. Let’s take a look at everything I learned from him.
Also Read: BharatGen CEO Rishi Bal on why India needs sovereign AI foundation models
“If I understand AI, I’ll take two steps towards AI.”
Addressing the common fear of job losses due to AI, Prof. Ramakrishnan presented a different view on this front. As he sees it, the sentiment should be that Indians are not afraid of AI but must remain active participants during its creation. He argues that AI should be a tool for improving productivity and solving problems that are tough to solve.
As per him, “If you don’t have AI as a primary goal, you will find that you will become irrelevant. People will not be empowered. So we need both these tracks to go on together.” He also said that, “If I understand AI, I’ll take two steps towards AI. AI takes two steps towards me. Then we become friends and not enemies.”
Advice for the coming generation
Furthermore, he also stated his views on the coming generation. His advice to the next generation is to keep their individual passions, whether they be art, music or anything else, but he suggests that they should use AI as a complementary tool. Stating the mission of BharatGen, he said it is to ensure that India adopts this technology on its own terms.
As per him, “Ultimately, the holistic understanding of a person, longitudinal understanding of a person, both humans and machines have complementary aspects. Machines are largely good at recalling. Humans are very good at precision. You can bring them together. And I’m not saying the answer is simple. Everyone has to, and what will happen is through individual inquisitiveness.”
Also Read: India’s Kreativespace is challenging Grammarly & QuillBot at the India AI Impact Summit 2026
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Madhav Banka
Madhav works as a Consultant at Digit, covering branded content and feature stories. He has been a part of the Consumer Tech Industry for over 4 years, covering news, features & reviews. While not busy working, you'll usually find him playing video games, or watching films. View Full Profile
