AI adoption is moving faster than organisations' ability to train workers and adapt skills to changing job requirements, while expectations around the technology continue to run ahead of its real-world capabilities, according to experts.
A study by Cognizant-Pearson showed that 91% of HR professionals reported increased demand for AI training over the past year, only 60% said learning and development programmes could not keep pace with the speed at which AI is changing jobs. In India, the figure stood at 63%.
"Many firms are treating AI as a technology project, when the bigger challenge is organisational. The companies that benefit most will be those that redesign workflows and management structures, not simply deploy new tools," said a senior analyst at a domestic broking firm.
Expectations Outpacing Reality
The findings come as analysts warn that expectations around AI capabilities are running ahead of reality in some areas.
"There is a widening gap between the marketing promise of GenAI and its real-world ability to transform and migrate complex legacy code," said Alessandro Galimberti, vice-president analyst at Gartner.
According to Gartner, companies pursuing AI-led technology migration strategies risk introducing technical debt and exposing operations to failures. The research firm has predicted that more than 70% of mainframe exit projects initiated this year will fail to deliver their intended benefits because of an overestimation of generative AI tools.
Galimberti said AI could be used more effectively to modernise systems instead of being treated as a solution for large-scale migration projects.
In May even HCLTech had said in a report that 43% of enterprise AI initiatives may fail as leaders face shrinking timelines for impact.
Changing Roles
The Cognizant-Pearson study showed that organisations are changing expectations for workers as AI takes over routine tasks.
Nearly all respondents said entry-level roles would evolve into positions where employees supervise or manage AI systems within the next five years. Most HR leaders also said AI would create new entry-level roles.
"AI is reshaping the talent landscape and exposing the limits of traditional talent and learning models," said Kathy Diaz, chief people officer at Cognizant.
The study found that 37% of entry-level tasks in India are already performed by AI, compared with a global average of 33%.
"We are seeing a fundamental redesign of roles, where early-career talent is expected to work alongside AI and focus on higher-value outcomes. This shift underscores the necessity for extensive reskilling and improved managerial effectiveness," said Rajesh Varrier, president of global operations and chairman and managing director of Cognizant India.
