Thomas Kurian Says AI Empowers Workers, Creates Opportunities in Tech
Kurian says AI empowers tech workers, boosts productivity, and opens new career opportunities.
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian has dismissed concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to widespread job losses in the tech industry, emphasizing instead its role as a tool to enhance worker productivity and create new opportunities. In an interview with tech newsletter Big Technology, Kurian countered fears of mass automation, stating that AI is designed to empower employees rather than replace them, enabling businesses to tackle tasks previously unaddressed.
Kurian highlighted Google’s Customer Engagement Suite, launched in 2024, as a prime example of AI’s transformative potential. Despite initial client apprehensions about job cuts, he noted that “almost none of our clients have let anyone go.” The suite’s AI-powered tools handle minor customer queries, freeing up human agents to focus on complex issues, thus improving service quality and operational efficiency. This approach has allowed companies to engage customers in ways previously unfeasible, expanding capabilities without reducing staff.
Echoing this perspective, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed in a June 2025 Lex Fridman Podcast appearance that AI tools have boosted engineer productivity by 10%, measured through additional hours of engineering capacity. Kurian’s remarks align with this data, underscoring AI’s role in augmenting human work rather than supplanting it. He argued for a “middle ground” where AI enhances human capabilities, dismissing doomsday predictions of job obsolescence as overblown.
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As AI adoption accelerates globally, Kurian’s optimistic outlook positions Google Cloud as a leader in integrating AI to drive innovation. With India emerging as a key hub for tech development, such advancements could reshape its vast IT workforce, fostering new roles in AI management and development. The focus on productivity over replacement signals a shift toward human-AI collaboration, potentially setting a precedent for the tech industry’s evolution in the coming decade.
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