New Delhi, Dec. 25 -- Every major technological shift triggers the same fear: this time, jobs will disappear for good. We heard it with mechanization, computers, the internet-and now with artificial intelligence (AI).

But history is clear. Technology itself does not determine outcomes. People with power do. Leadership does. Guns don't kill people; people do. AI doesn't destroy jobs; CEOs do.

Right now, far too many leaders are using AI in the most crude and unimaginative way possible-as a chainsaw to cut costs, automate roles and discard people. Layoffs are announced as "efficiency gains." Stock prices jump. Executives congratulate themselves for being "AI-first."

And then the real costs begin to surface. Consider cases like Klarna, wh...