Pakistan has introduced an ambitious national AI policy aimed at building a domestic AI market of $ 2.7 billion in five years. It is based on six most important columns: innovation, skills, safe and ethical use, sector transformation, infrastructure and international cooperation.
Politicians say they intend to prioritize public funding, clarify points on data usage, intellectual property (IP), taxation and define economic policies according to this framework.
Secure AI -Ecosystem
AI cyber security systems shared across institutions must be implemented to protect digital infrastructure. An AI ethical Board of Directors must be formed to supervise data protection data protection: AI Directorate.
They emphasize transparency and human supervision in AI operations across public and private sectors and plan to achieve this through the introduction of a public register of AI systems that give citizens access to information about the ways AI is used.
In addition, an Open Source AI management framework is proposed-a collection of open source tools and frameworks for implementing AI management in organizations-with international data protection standards. They also say the need for a national data security policy that outlines the current security standards, what is missing and how we can keep protected.
The AI Directorate in collaboration with COEs would establish rules for generative AI to lower risks such as incorrect information, privacy violations and copyright violations. According to the policy, these measures must ensure that AI tools work responsibly and maintain ethical and legal standards.
Generating jobs
The policy outlines a goal to educate 200,000 people annually in AI tools with dedicated modules to marginalized women and specially activated citizens.
The government also plans to offer 3,000 annual scholarships to postgraduate and doctorate studies in AI, a specialized AI-Reading Plan for public employees to educate them in ethical AI use and data protection awareness and an interest-free education financing scheme to support 15,000 students a year pursuing “high-tech” degrees.
In addition, it aims to launch a national “high-tech” internship program to create 20,000 internships annually in the AI sector.
Innovation
A National AI Fund (NAIF) must be created during the Ignite National Technology Fund. About 30% of Ignite’s resources for research and development will go to support AI research, innovation and commercialization.
With funding from NAIF, the Centers of Excellence (COEs) must be created in cities across the country to act as hubs that support AI research, training and start -up incubation. Within these centers, an “innovation fund” is to support projects that address challenges in healthcare, education and agriculture, while a “venture fund” must provide financial support to help scale AI-Startups in early stages.
The government intends to introduce data standards and frameworks of quality assurance to ensure the reliable and ethical use of domestic developed AI models.
Transformation and evolution
The government wants to use AI to improve industries and services and plan to create a detailed roadmap to use it in education, healthcare, agriculture and energy management.
A new “Ranking Management System” will be developed with government supervision to help individuals and businesses choose the right AI tool for the job. According to the policy, they will encourage companies in the industrial sector to adopt AI technologies to improve the efficiency of several areas and digitize items.
While the adoption of AI will be voluntary for these companies, those who do would be entitled to tax cuts and subsidies as well as being offered training programs and workshops. The government is also aiming to implement AI solutions to support local farmers in the hope of reducing crops.
AI infrastructure
According to the policy, a nationwide AI network will be established to provide sufficient computing power to handle large experiments, process large data sets and train AI models. At least 100 universities and research institutions have access to these resources.
To supplement this, the government will maintain high quality data sets in national and provincial data stores, while at the same time the existing public sector data centers for more efficient access.
Sky-based services and shared AI resources must be promoted to give businesses and institutions access to data and tools through public cloud platforms that benefit local AI developers and startups in training AI models.
International cooperation
The government plans to form bilateral agreements with leading AI nations such as the United States to share knowledge, develop new technologies and establish common AI research centers.
Pakistan will actively participate in global AI forums to show progress and build partnerships, and our AI rules will be in line with international standards to ensure compliance.
The policy also aims to attract foreign direct investments in the AI sector, giving capital and opportunities for local businesses to grow. In addition, talent exchange programs are created, enabling students and professionals to pursue AI education abroad in the hope of bringing back expertise to support further domestic innovation.
