Microsoft VP Rajesh Jha on how even if companies layoff half their workforce due to AI, it will only increase business of software companies, not ‘kill’ – The Times of India

While investors fret over a potential software rout due to ‘explosion’ of AI technology, one of Microsoft’s top executive has pushed back against fears of an enterprise software decline. According to Rajesh Jha, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Experiences + Devices Group, AI agents will still require software licenses, which addresses concerns that AI-driven job cuts would destroy seat-based revenue. Jha argued that as companies deploy thousands of digital agents, the number of ‘paying users’ could actually increase, even as traditional human headcounts fall.

Rajesh Jha’s logic behind the argument

The key insight is straightforward: In the future, Jha envisions, AI agents will be independent actors operating inside business software systems, complete with their own logins, inboxes and digital identities. And if they function as users, they may need to be licensed as users.“All of those embodied agents are seat opportunities,” Jha said, using the industry term…