Fujitsu CTO on AI: ‘What’s my single biggest issue? Talent’

In a media briefing earlier today, Fujitsu’s chief technology officer Vivek Mahajan was clear that while AI has been around for decades, we are only at the beginning of the AI revolution.

The potential of AI is “huge”. “On a scale of zero to 100, we are probably only at one” – watch this space over the coming decades.

Mahajan predicted that AI would drive trillions of dollars of opportunity, and it’ll have an all-encompassing impact on the world.

For instance, it’ll have a crucial role in how wars will be fought in the future (this is already being seen in Ukraine), in how people shop and travel, as well as on the future of healthcare.

“It has so much potential to improve people lives – I don’t know what the upper limit is to be honest”, noted Mahajan.

AI, the future of work, and the talent shortage

UNLEASH was keen to find out his view on AI’s impact on the future of work.

“I honestly believe that technology does not steal jobs” – historically, this has always been raised as an issue, but never comes to fruition in reality.

Yes, some jobs will disappear, but they will get “redefined”. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing” – it means people can do more fulfilling jobs, and they can use their skills in a much better way.

If “technology is implemented in the right way, it drives a much more fulfilling work environment” – and the same is true for AI.

Reskilling and upskilling is necessary here – employers have a role here, but Mahajan also calls on governments to support.

Mahajan shared that is someone asked him, “what’s my biggest issue? It’s talent.” However, he is keen to note that there is a talent crunch in all areas of technology, not just AI.

This is why Fujitsu hires globally – “we are not limited to talent here in Japan” – as well as collaborates with university and academic institutions to really tap into the top emerging tech talent.

The future of AI regulation

During the press briefing, Fujitsu’s CTO also shared his views on the future of the AI business landscape.

While he notes that ChatGPT and OpenAI have done some great work around democratizing access to AI – open source is top of mind for Fujitsu too – he adds that is clear that there won’t be “just one single company dominating all forms of AI”.

Different companies will dominate in different areas; while OpenAI may dominate generative AI, Tesla, for example, is leading the way on AI, batteries and the automotive sector.

Fujitsu is thinking very carefully about where it will compete in the AI landscape in order to maximize its research dollar.

Along a similar vein, Mahajan shared his views on AI regulations – “because it is not dominated by just one country alone”, that complicates the governance.

“What’s good governance in the US might not be good governance in China, and vice-versa,” he noted.

“What you need is a broader framework that people can look at and make decision intelligently” – they need to be easy to understand, and enforceable.

Then “if you have a problem, you can go to the courts and say this is a violation of certain rights”.  

AI at UNLEASH World

Automation and AI is going to be front and center at UNLEASH World 2023.

Grab a ticket now for our upcoming Paris show to get invaluable, in-person, actionable insights on how to use AI to your advantage from Josh Bersin, as well as HR leaders like Anika Grant and James Purvis.