Annamalai said artificial intelligence (AI) will not destroy people or their employment opportunities, addressing students at a college graduation ceremony in Coimbatore.
In his speech, he urged graduates to step forward with confidence that they can succeed anywhere in the world. Drawing a parallel with how computers transformed everyday life, he said AI is set to bring a similar wave of change.
He noted that technology-driven shifts can also create challenges, and students must learn to adapt and recover from setbacks. He said he does not believe claims that AI will take away jobs, but warned that it could become a problem for students who do not know how to use it.
Annamalai called on graduates to embrace the technology at a time when AI is reshaping life and work. He encouraged them to keep learning even after earning an engineering degree, take risks, travel, work in teams, plan big and solve difficult challenges.
He told students that while they have reached a milestone by graduating as engineers, they still have a long way to go in becoming better human beings. He advised them to think big, remain humble and simple, keep learning new things, and be ready to support their parents whenever needed.
