Focus Urged on Responsible AI-Driven Digital Economy

LAHORE: A two-day policy dialogue on “digitisation and artificial intelligence: opportunities and challenges in view of national and international perspectives” developed a consensus that all stakeholders, including the government, industry and academia, should sit together to develop policies and strategies that enable an inclusive, responsible AI-driven digital economy.

The Executive Development Institute (EDI) of the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) organised the dialogue which concluded on Friday. Around 50 participants from all over the country attended the session, including public sector officials, private sector executives and academia.

NSPP Rector Dr Ijaz Munir officially inaugurated the dialogue and highlighted the importance of digitisation and artificial intelligence in various sectors. He said this dialogue provides an opportunity to objectively evaluate Pakistan’s digitisation landscape, its opportunities as well as its gaps.

The keynote address was delivered by Prof Dr Sohail Naqvi, CEO of Knowledge Platform, on the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation and AI for governance, education and business.

He discussed how digitalisation can improve governance efficiency through e-governance, better connectivity, transparent processes and digital literacy. He also emphasised the need to digitise the education sector in Pakistan to provide better access and quality of education through online learning platforms, digital content and new pedagogical approaches. He pointed out the need to develop effective regulations and ethics around new technologies like AI to address risks and challenges as well as harness the full potential.

The programme was officially introduced by EDI Dean Ahmed Nazir Warraich, who highlighted the potential for economic growth, improved governance and sectoral transformation through digitisation and AI. He emphasised the importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue between government, industry and academia to develop policies and strategies that enable an inclusive, responsible AI-driven digital economy. He also highlighted the uniqueness of this dialogue in its holistic perspective, engagement of leading experts, and aim to catalyse a progressive national digital strategy for Pakistan.

Federal Information Technology Secretary Hassan Nasir Jamy discussed the need for digital policy and digital transformation in Pakistan. Prof Dr Kashif Zafar, Head of the Computer Science Department at FAST University Lahore, dilated upon the opportunities and challenges related to the internet of things and artificial intelligence.

Salman Akhtar from Techno Logics talked about digital platforms for the government, trade and industry. Qazi Shoaib Ahmad from the State Bank of Pakistan presented the bank’s initiatives for digital finance and banking. Innovators and entrepreneurs, Imran Jattala and Muhammad Saleem Ahmad Ranjha focused on Pakistan’s digitisation in the regional context.

Ehtasham Shahid from Nadra covered the aspect of digital citizenship for effective service delivery while Waqar Naeem Qureshi from PITB presented a case study on digital transformation in Punjab. Dr Arshad Saleem Bhatti, VC Virtual University, and Dr Sarfraz Khurshid, former VC ITU, discussed the impact of AI on education, and Humayun Bashir Tarar and Dr Haider Abbas addressed cyber security and counter-terrorism with respect to digitisation and AI.