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‘AI is a force multiplier for entrepreneurship’ – in conversation with Nitin Seth, bestselling author of ‘Human Edge in the AI Age’ >
by Madanmohan Rao [September 12, 2025]
Next Saturday, on September 20, the 11th edition of the BizLitFest Bangalore is kicking off at WeWork Galaxy. Benedict Paramanand, co-founder of this business literature festival series, also launched the inaugural Hyderabad edition on August 2.
In our first preview article on BLFB 2025, we featured an exclusive interview with Ganesh Krishnan, a serial entrepreneur and author of the newly-released book, Mastering Disruption: A Practical Guide to Understanding New-Age Business Models. He is founder and partner at GrowthStory.in, and also promoter and founder-director of BigBasket, Portea Medical, Bluestone, and HomeLane.
In this second preview article, we feature an exclusive interview with Nitin Seth, author of Human Edge in the AI Age: Eight Timeless Mantras for Success. His debut book, Winning in the Digital Age, won the CK Prahalad Best Business Book Award at BLFB 2022. His second book is Mastering the Data Paradox.
Nitin is the co-founder and CEO of AI services firm Incedo, and was earlier Director of McKinsey’s Global Knowledge Centre, Managing Director and India Country Head of Fidelity International, and Chief Operating Officer of Flipkart. He is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow and IIT Delhi.
His latest book offers eight mantras for humans to succeed in the AI age, described in his framework aptly called POSSIBLE: Problem-solving, Openness to Change, Spirituality, Sports, Impact, Balance, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship.
AI breakthroughs are powered by advances in Big Data, algorithms and computing, and have led to transformations in personalisation, automation, innovation, and business models. Nitin explains how AI can surpass human performances in deep learning, problem identification, conversational storytelling, new content creation, and emotional awareness.
“The AI age signals the end of the era of jobs and heralds the beginning of the age of entrepreneurs,” Nitin writes in the book. The human edge will lie in our creativity, problem-solving ability, resilience, and leadership.
In this wide-ranging interview, Nitin delves deeper into myths about AI, the India opportunity, the importance of unlearning, the need for sustainability, and tips for entrepreneurs. Sign up here to register for BLFB 2025 and listen to more insights from this bestselling author!
Madan: What are the common myths and misconceptions about AI that you still come across? How can they be tackled?
Nitin: The narrative around AI too often swings between two extremes—utopian or dystopian—with little middle ground. The truth, however, lies somewhere in between. AI carries immense potential to transform our world, but also brings serious challenges. That’s why it is vital to acknowledge its dual-edged nature and discover our new human edge.
A major misconception is that AI is just like any other technology wave. It's not. The AI age will shatter some of the long-standing beliefs about how technology transforms work.
One, that technology always helps humans move up the value chain. In reality, for every blue- collar job lost, 10 white collar jobs will be replaced in the future.
Two, that AI will create more jobs than it destroys. In fact, 35-50% of jobs will be lost, while most will be impacted in the long run.
And three, that reskilling and upskilling alone is enough to remain competitive. Yes, it is essential, but the traditional approaches will only prepare us for a fraction of the potential job creation opportunities. The true opportunity lies in harnessing the entrepreneurship and domain depth in the AI age.
This is why I believe tackling it requires a shift from fear to decisive action. The real question every leader and professional must ask is: What is our unique human edge? My goal is to get people to double down on actively cultivating skills—like problem-solving, resilience, and leadership—that remain irreplaceable.
That is why, in my book, I propose the POSSIBLE framework, a practical guide to help us navigate this era with a sense of hope and optimism, rather than giving into fear.
Madan: What do you see as the ‘India moment’ for AI success at a local and global stage – what should we be doing as an economy and society?
Nitin: I truly believe India's ‘AI moment’ is now, and it is a powerful leapfrogging opportunity for our economy. Our true advantage is not in competing with global giants on capital-intensive infrastructure or models, but in leading the AI application layer. With our thriving developer ecosystem and unique understanding of both enterprise and consumer needs, we are perfectly positioned to build high-impact solutions for the world.
India must obsessively nurture entrepreneurship to thrive in the AI age. With our world’s youngest workforce, we face an urgent choice: unlock entrepreneurial energy at scale or risk widespread unemployment. This is why we must break free from a services-first mindset and embrace a more entrepreneurial, product-led approach. It is a call for us to be bolder, take on more risks, and build intellectual property.
This also calls for the policymakers to focus on democratising access to AI Infrastructure—compute, foundational models, data services—for students and MSMEs, especially beyond our major cities. This levels the playing field, allowing even solopreneurs to innovate and compete globally. By combining AI’s power with India’s strength of frugal innovation, we can create scalable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Madan: You mention that even ‘Human + AI’ jobs could be eliminated in future – what are some examples here?
Nitin: From my research for The Human Edge book, I have come to believe that many of today’s ‘Human + AI’ jobs might only be short/medium term phenomena. Over time, many of these roles will become fully autonomous as the cost of AI deployment drops and autonomous systems mature.
Shifts like agentic orchestration platforms are making this happen already. These AI systems allow multiple AI agents to autonomously collaborate, negotiate, and complete complex tasks end-to-end, with minimal or no human intervention.
For example, Waymo’s driverless taxi services, where AI agents coordinate entire fleets — routing cars, negotiating traffic flows, and managing demand dynamically. Or Klarna’s customer service agents that resolve issues end-to-end without human intervention.
We are not far away from a future where AI agents will seamlessly orchestrate entire value chains—designing products, managing supply networks, personalising customer experiences, and even closing deals—without humans in the loop.
Madan: You rightly mention that success calls for continuous relearning and unlearning. While relearning is certainly possible, unlearning is a real challenge! What does it take to truly unlearn?
Nitin: You are right, unlearning is a real challenge. I believe it is far harder than relearning because it requires letting go of the habits, mental models, and even identities that have made us successful in the past. For me, it comes down to very conscious, personal choices.
I think the key to truly unlearning starts with humility. As I have found in my own life, like when I was learning squash, you have to be willing to admit that what you know is no longer enough. The moment you acknowledge the gaps in your knowledge, you create the mental space needed to let go of outdated approaches and open yourself up to new possibilities.
This is where curiosity is critical. It is the engine of unlearning. We have to be curious enough to actively question the way we have always done things. It is about being willing to feel that uncomfortable 'information gap' and being driven to fill it.
Beyond that, I believe unlearning is a conscious act of emotional discipline. It is a bit like a leader having to discard a strategy that once made the company successful but is now obsolete. You have to actively challenge your deeply ingrained biases and behaviors, and that takes courage. Only then can new knowledge truly take root and help you move forward.
Madan: What role do you see for the discipline of knowledge management (KM) in the age of AI? Is it under threat, or can it transform itself successfully?
Nitin: The traditional discipline of knowledge management is absolutely under threat. The old way of capturing, storing, and retrieving information—which was the primary job of a knowledge manager—is a cognitive task that AI is built to do better, faster, and at an unimaginable scale. Trying to compete with that would be a losing battle.
The discipline can and must transform itself successfully, but it requires a fundamental shift in its purpose. The new role is to transition from Knowledge Management to Knowledge Orchestration – curating, contextualising, and integrating knowledge from multiple sources to make it more personalised and actionable.
Their real value is not in knowing where every piece of information sits, but in using AI and analytics to uncover nuance, connect the dots, and generate new insights. By leveraging AI, it is possible surface hidden patterns across the organisation and unearth insights no single function or team could achieve alone.
This is where the real power lies. Such insights can help an organisation solve new business problems or create new offerings. Their job shifts from being a librarian of the old to being a catalyst for innovation—empowering others to make connections and create new value.
Madan: How can AI professionals make AI technology more sustainable? There are growing concerns about AI’s huge needs for energy and water.
Nitin: Yes, making AI sustainable is indeed a real concern, given the explosive growth of AI and how rapidly the number of data centers required to power AI is multiplying. A recent forecast estimates that global power demand from data centers will increase by as much as 165% by the end of this decade, driven by the growing need for power-intensive processors to support future AI capacity.
This exposes a fundamental flaw in the prevailing Western approach to building technology—especially AI models and infrastructure—that more is always better. That mindset is inherently inefficient, as more data means more compute, and more compute means exponentially more energy. What the world needs now is a shift towards frugal innovation and energy-efficient architectures. It is precisely for this reason that DeepSeek is such a breakthrough—achieving high model performance with lower compute capacity, slashing energy consumption by 75% compared to similar US models.
As leaders, we cannot just celebrate the potential of AI without addressing its impact on the planet. While we should applaud the rise of AI companies like Nvidia becoming the most valued company in the world, we also need to focus on more sustainable models that consume much less data and therefore much less energy. We need many more breakthroughs like DeepSeek.
Further, AI itself can be directed toward solving energy consumption – from smart grids to global climate modeling, AI can help build a sustainable future and address climate change. For me, sustainability has to sit at the heart of the AI agenda. This is not just about technology; it is about responsibility to future generations. In my book, I call this our ‘spiritual quotient’ — the ability to align progress with purpose.
Madan: You talk about the need for a collective conversation about AI’s impact. How should we tackle issues like the weaponisation of AI into instruments of war? How can this be curtailed?
Nitin: Indeed, it is undeniable and inevitable that AI tech will be used to power weapons, just like every other advanced tech. AI is already being embedded in missiles to optimise flight paths and targeting precision. There is nothing inherently wrong in applying AI to defense systems, as it enhances precision and control, potentially reducing collateral damage and improving overall security.
I believe the bigger concern is the use of AI as a weapon in the invisible battlefield – where AI fused with social media, is being used to manipulate minds, polarise communities, incite unrest, and erode trust in institutions. The world today is witnessing many such instances and that to me is a more serious case of using AI for weaponisation.
And as everyday people increasingly rely on AI tools, the data they generate concentrates immense power in a handful of companies, creating the risk that subtle biases can be introduced into the very systems shaping our information and choices.
This is precisely why the urgency to establish global data standards, privacy guidelines, responsible data and AI model integration, and efforts to eliminate bias and prevent misuse on large-scale AI platforms cannot be overstated. Establishing new global regulatory standards of governance to avoid misuse is a must to curtail weaponisation of technology today.
Madan: You rightly mention the importance of learning from activities like sports. The discipline of art also has a lot to teach us about creativity and dealing with uncertainty, which can help in the AI Age. What are your thoughts on this?
Nitin: I fully agree that art as a discipline has much to teach us. In fact, if I could add another mantra to the POSSIBLE framework, Art would have been one! This is also a very personal topic for me. My younger daughter is an artist—a sculptor and a painter. It is through her journey as an artist and the numerous discussions we have shared over the years that I have come to appreciate the true potential of art.
Art is so much more than creativity. It is about seeing the world through a completely different lens – empathy, emotion, and self-expression. More importantly, art expands our field of vision, shifting the narrow focus on competition and winning that so often dominates modern life, to a broader sense of shared humanity, love and peace.
Art challenges conventional thinking, raises profound questions, and equips us to look at things with fresh perspectives – All these are traits that are extremely critical to help us navigate the uncertainties that lie ahead of us.
Madan: How has your book been received so far? What is your next book about?
Nitin: The book has done extremely well so far and I am delighted to see how well it has resonated with the audience. Since its launch on July 31, the book has had a spectacular start—debuting at No.1 on Amazon across Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Business & Economics, and Science, Technology & Medicine.
Even before release, Penguin Random House India declared it a National Bestseller during the pre-order phase. I am humbled by the outpouring of love and support that I have been receiving through comments, reviews, and emails. It is a true testament of its relevance in today’s AI-driven world.
My next book will also be on AI, but with a focus on reinventing businesses and organisations in the AI era. In this book I will take a deeper, more practical look at what it takes to build an AI-native enterprise and unlock value from AI at scale. Because, thriving in the AI age will demand more than incremental improvements. It will require fundamentally reimagining the business and organisational models with AI at the core. It is about unleashing enterprise-wide transformation in the AI era.
Madan: What are your words of advice or tips for the entrepreneurs in the audience?
Nitin: Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful expressions of the Human Edge. But in the age of AI, this spirit is no longer limited to startup founders or industry disruptors. It is a mindset that every individual must adopt. AI is a force multiplier for entrepreneurship and will usher in the Age of Entrepreneurs.
My advice for entrepreneurs, especially in India, is to focus not just on technical skills but more on building context and domain depth. The most significant entrepreneurial opportunities in the AI Age lie in the application layer—where AI meets real-world problems. To succeed, entrepreneurs must develop a deep understanding of customer pain points that truly matter.
Moreover, take intelligent risks—the AI age rewards bold bets but only when grounded in insight. Build mission-led businesses that will endure beyond hype cycles. Think global and act bold—don’t limit ambition to local markets or old models. And remember, talent is your biggest multiplier—so assemble an A-team and build with the best!
Madan: Any other parting comments or remarks you would like to make?
Nitin: I believe as AI races ahead, we are standing at a critical crossroads that will shape the future of human civilisation. And standing still is not an option for us. We need to take decisive action in order to not just survive but thrive.
Otherwise, we as the human species run the risk of falling into the realm of irrelevance. It is not the time to be lost in confusion and inertia, but rather moving quickly to sharpen our human edge—that deep reservoir of uniquely human instincts, values and capabilities which will help us rise to the disruptions posed by the AI age. And the Eight Timeless Mantras of the POSSIBLE framework of my book can be the very guide to help us achieve that.
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