Even as the Indian software industry jumps on the AI hype train and trains its workforce on generative AI, ed tech firms such as Udemy, upGrad and Coursera report that droves of non-coders are also enrolling in courses on their platforms to understand and manage the implications of generative AI on their work.
While the application of AI and machine learning in the tech industry is not new, the launch of the AI- powered language model ChatGPT last year captured the imagination. Applications such as ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bard have made the implications of AI on our daily lives much more tangible and easier to understand.
Experts believe that AI in the workforce could impact white collar jobs as well, as against the traditional understanding that the tech boom would take away blue collar automation jobs first. Thus, droves of Indians working in corporations, ranging from C-suite executives to 20-somethings still new in the workforce, are enrolling in courses offered by ed tech firms to understand the implications of AI on their work and how to use it.
Speaking with businessline, Peter Kokkinos, VP and Managing Director for the Asia Pacific, Udemy, said Indian business leaders are enrolling in courses on generative AI to understand its implications on their businesses and their own work. “What’s interesting about that (the enrolments) is it’s not just the tech audiences and the tech people taking up those courses. We’re seeing a real sort of mix of people making the time to educate themselves. We’re even seeing leaders, in particular, now really starting to emerge and thinking about ways to upskill. There’s an anxiety among leaders around GenAI, thinking what do I need, what don’t I know, if I’m going to lead this organisation forward, how is it going to impact our business?” he said. Udemy has enrolled around 2.72 lakh Indians on courses related to generative AI in the first half of 2023.
Coursera is to launch a generative AI course specifically designed for a non-tech audience on November 1. In collaboration with DeepLearing.AI, Coursera’s module, ‘Generative AI for Everyone from AI pioneer Andrew Ng,’ has seen 53,000 enrolments worldwide so far.
The Ronnie Screwvala backed ed-tech firm, upGrad, has also reported a boom in enrolments for generative AI courses amongst a non-tech audience. “GenAI courses are gaining popularity amongst working professionals, even from non-tech sectors, and we’re receiving steady demand for it, especially from Maharashtra, NCR, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana,” said an upGrad spokesperson. Most of these learners are in their twenties.
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Published on October 27, 2023
