ET Power Table: Business leaders bullish on AI, say meaningful adoption is not far off
The roundtable brought together Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, managing director of garment exporter Gokaldas Exports, Venk Krishnan, CEO of NuWare, Krishnan Venkateswaran, chief digital officer of Titan, and Satheesh Krishnamurthy, HNI CEO of asset management firm 360 ONE Wealth.
Titan’s Venkateswaran said AI works best on repetitive, low-decision tasks. “Wherever the frequency of the task is high and the level of judgment or human touch is low, AI agents act without thinking,” he said.
Panelists at ET Power Table leadership dialogue reflect ‘Over-reliance on Western AI platforms is a concern’
AI can handle training, process management and standard invoice processing, but it’s not yet ready to do the core part of our job, which is talking to customers in stores, he said. “Automation has been around for decades. AI agents are probably a bit smarter, aware of context, and able to learn from what’s already been done.”
The industry’s larger goals are still a work in progress, said Krishnan of US-based IT services firm NuWare. “Most AI models, including Anthropic, talk about a super-intelligent AI that can think and act like a human. That’s what everyone is after.” He added that timelines remain uncertain. “People are predicting that 2030 will be the year we really learn what AI can and cannot do.”
According to Ganapathi, AI is already creating value in design. “There is a huge design component where AI helps bring products to market much faster,” he said.
Artificial intelligence now helps digitally create garments after a designer draws them, enabling 3D visualization and virtual display. This shortens the time between concept and presentation to the buyer.
Ganapathi also said the over-reliance on Western AI platforms is also concerning. “I think this level of intelligence exists in India,” he said. “Most AI models are US-based, and ultimately all the data is processed there. Are we comfortable exporting all that data? Some of these AI systems may end up knowing more about our company than we do, because we’re happily feeding them everything.”
The power of AI cuts both ways, said 360 ONE Wealth’s Krishnamurthy. “AI can be a beautiful or dangerous tool, depending on who uses it,” he said. He added that organizations that are not careful could incur significant costs due to the risk of hallucinations. “It needs vigilance. It needs constant awareness at the corporate level about how we leverage these capabilities.”
Krishnamurthy also said that artificial intelligence is reshaping roles in asset management. “With the influence of technology and artificial intelligence, the relationship manager is now equipped with tools such as the cloud to work on proposals and leverage all the intelligence already available in the company. We can also design the portfolio,” he said.
“Instead of being a distant touch to the client, the investment advisor can choose to transform himself into an asset manager. This is a huge opportunity,” he added.
He said the RM service would also benefit. “Their core skill is relationship management. Technology can act as a think tank for them and help them move from being just another service arm to a full relationship manager.”
“Smart adoption of technology can be a career alpha creator every step of the way,” Krishnamurthy added.
NuWare’s Krishnan said the mindset of software engineers needs to evolve.
“AI has changed the landscape. There will be a lot of training that we will do as well and I am sure other IT companies will follow,” he said.
He said being a small company has its advantages. “Customers work closely with us and tell us exactly where they want our help. Domain knowledge is more critical today than ever.”
“I always emphasize this to my employees: Learn your subject. If you know your subject well, you have at least a chance of understanding how to do things,” he added. He said that field experts are in a better situation today thanks to the training they can receive on the technology side.
