Experts caution against unchecked use of AI
Highlighting $100 billion impact of technology on the global economy during a conference titled 'New Age Innovations: Create Impact in an AI-Driven Future', held at a local hotel, speakers urged responsible use of AI and warned users about inherent data biases.
Former Chairman of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that despite limited resources, the country has made remarkable achievements in science and innovation.
'Universities are not about good buildings, but good minds,' he stated, reminding the Islamic world of its declining presence in science and technology, noting the lack of a Muslim Nobel laureate in the sciences. He urged Muslim nations to abandon superstition and embrace modern scientific developments.
He told participants that AI, when combined with quantum computing, can solve problems in minutes that would otherwise take billions of years. He also highlighted AI's use in education, medical advancements, treatments, and innovations such as neuro and chips to aid the visually impaired.
Sohail Jawaad Syed, Executive Director at DFS Group, State Bank of Pakistan, discussed the country's digital payment landscape. He noted that while global adoption of digital payments is increasing, many Pakistanis still rely on physical transactions such as cheques.
He said that 82 percent of account holders still prefer cash or cheque transactions due to a lack of understanding of digital banking. He urged the government to develop policies that promote digital payment systems to improve transaction efficiency.
Expressing concerns, he advised users to interact with AI cautiously, citing data biases. He emphasised that AI poses significant cybersecurity threats, calling them 'really scary,' and added that it could also infringe on human privacy. He called for proper regulations to manage these risks.
German Consul General in Karachi Dr Rüdiger Lotz praised the organisers for enhancing public understanding of AI. 'We have to ensure we use AI, and not the other way around,' he remarked.
He also described AI-generated information as 'biased' and urged users to verify content critically. He said AI technology still lacks objectivity and should remain a tool—not a decision-maker—for humans.
Dr Ani Atanasova, CEO and Co-founder of Pixelhunters, UAE, speaking online, stressed that AI cannot replace human creativity. She explained that AI generates content from existing data, whereas human creativity is boundless and includes emotion— something AI lacks.
She acknowledged AI's benefits in education, helping students innovate and enabling technologists to train AI with human behaviour patterns. However, she pointed out that trust in AI-generated content remains a challenge.
Yasmin Hyder, CEO of New World Concepts Pakistan observed that the post-COVID era has rapidly transformed marketing, branding, and HR management. She said the conference aimed to explore AI as a powerful innovation tool.
Dr S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director of the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, provided a critical perspective on how institutions and societies must adapt to the AI revolution. He addressed AI's socioeconomic implications and emphasised the importance of policy, education, and governance in achieving inclusive, sustainable outcomes.
Asma Shaikh, Acting VP and Director General HR at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China, shared insights on how organisations can prepare their workforce for the AI era. She highlighted the importance of future-ready leadership, agile teams, and inclusive talent development.
Naz Khan, Principal Country Officer at the International Finance Corporation Pakistan, focused on AI's transformative potential in agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. She emphasised how technology can drive inclusive economic growth and tackle challenges like climate change and poverty.
Atyab Tahir, Co-founder and CEO of HugoBank, discussed how AI is revolutionising the banking and financial services sector by enhancing customer experience, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.
Qashif Effendi, EVP of SBE Holdings, Canada, presented on 'Boosting Sales with Generative AI,' showing how AI can optimise marketing and sales through better customer targeting, content creation, and campaign management.
Dr Zainab Samad, Ibn-e-Sina Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University, spoke on 'How AI is Affecting Health and Wellbeing.' She detailed AI's impact on diagnostics and patient care, while also addressing how constant use of new technologies may affect brain function and social behaviour.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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The government is in the process of taking nearly Rs1.3 trillion in fresh loans from the local commercial banks to retire the circular debt that it owes to the state-owned power plants, nuclear power plants, privately owned plants, and the Chinese plants. According to one of the conditions set by the federal cabinet, the authorities will negotiate with the power producers to waive off the interest payments in return for taking upfront full payments, said a government functionary who is part of these discussions. The Chinese might not waive off the interest cost due to their internal requirements, which would leave the government with the option of either making full payments in one go or clearing the dues as the fiscal space is created. The Rs423 billion unpaid debts are in violation of the 2015 CPEC Energy Framework Agreement, which binds the government to fully clear the dues irrespective of whether the authorities can recover the amounts from the end consumers. Along with security, the non-fulfilment of CPEC contracts is one of the reasons for slow progress in financial and commercial relations between the two nations. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit China next month, and one of the agenda items is luring Chinese investors to Pakistan by addressing their concerns. Under the CPEC Energy Framework Agreement, Pakistan was required to create a revolving fund with 21% of the power invoices to protect Chinese firms from the circular debt crisis. However, the previous government opened a Pakistan Energy Revolving Account at the State Bank of Pakistan in October 2022 with Rs48 billion in annual allocations. But it limited the withdrawals to Rs4 billion per month, leading to the current Rs423 billion debt stock. The documents show Pakistan owed Rs87 billion to the imported coal-fired Sahiwal power plant, while the company received Rs1.14 trillion in the past eight years of its operations. The country also owed Rs69 billion to the coal-fired Hub power project, compared to the Rs834 billion worth of total claims. The outstanding remaining dues of the coal-fired Port Qasim power plant were Rs85.5 billion, as against the total bills of over Rs1 trillion. The Port Qasim plant's dues were roughly Rs15 billion higher than the preceding fiscal year. The Thar Coal project dues remained at Rs55.5 billion. It had claimed Rs566 billion worth of dues. The outstanding dues of Karo power company were Rs11 billion, Engro Powergen Thar Coal Rs38 billion, Matiari Lahore Transmission Line Rs28.5 billion, and Thar Energy Limited Rs8.3 billion. The Chinese government has repeatedly raised this issue with Pakistan through diplomatic channels, including Pakistan's embassy in Beijing and its own embassy in Islamabad. It is expected that once the procedural formalities are completed by the commercial banks and the federal government's entities, the circular debt amounts would start going down. The government had reached a deal with commercial banks to borrow Rs1.25 trillion at less than an 11% interest rate as part of its three-pronged strategy to eliminate the circular debt and restore power sector viability. The banks are expected to disburse the loans soon after fulfilment of the procedural requirements. The deal is said to be about 3% to 5% cheaper than the interest on the existing facilities and the penalties that the government pays for not making timely payments of the energy purchases. The Rs1.25 trillion debt is being taken on the books of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), and it would not be part of the overall public debt. The government was paying up to 14% cost to the commercial banks on the loans that it had taken in the past to retire the circular debt, and up to 16% price to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for not making timely payments to them. Out of the total Rs2.4 trillion existing circular debt stock, there is a need to resettle the Rs1.5 trillion principal amounts to eliminate the debt stock. Out of the Rs1.25 trillion, about Rs660 billion will be settled against the Power Holding Limited debt. This debt had been obtained in the past at a rate of KIBOR plus up to 2%. The nuclear plant powers will get around Rs280 billion, while the LNG power plants are expected to receive Rs220 billion. Pakistan's earlier efforts to get the energy debt rescheduled have not succeeded, according to the government sources. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Energy Minister Sardar Awais Laghari were leading these efforts. The Pakistani officials had requested a five to eight-year extension for repaying energy debt, converting US dollar-based interest payments to Chinese currency, and reducing overall interest rates for both CPEC and non-CPEC Chinese-funded projects.
