We Are Far from an AI Revolution

By Wajeeha Iftikhar
Karachi, Pakistan

 

An earlier article in your paper pointing to the tantalizing prospects of an AI revolution in Pakistan furnishes valuable insights, however, I do not agree with the content/topic completely. We are far from an AI revolution. Knowing about the (very commonly misused software) ChatGPT does not make everyone "tech-savvy". The usage of such a software versus the use of AI and technology in practical situations have a vast ocean of differences between them.

On the surface, these numbers and figures are painting a very "wow" image of the country's progress in technology. However, behind the scenes, our progress is slower than the pace of a turtle carrying ten turtles on its back. The content of courses being offered by platforms like Coursera and other "workshops", "certificates" and "short courses" being offered by places like Aptech and others, is comparable to the education level of ancient times - the rest of the world has studied and researched on those subjects more than three to four decades earlier and moved on.

The figures being used in international surveys are for show only - being a professional involved so deeply in this industry for fifteen years now, there are a thousand factors that were not taken into consideration - for example, 63-65% of the total population lives in rural areas; and 70-75% of the rural population likely lacks reliable internet access (rough approximations only).

Besides, just because people might have heard of AI or technologies like ChatGPT doesn’t mean they can use or access them effectively. Moreover, if educational content is outdated, it doesn’t prepare the workforce for the demands of the AI revolution. And believe me when I say, it's outdated - I am learning more and better out of educational facilities than I did in my 18? probably 22 years of education, counting my 2 years of Diploma. But then, I made the decision to never stop learning. =)

Forgive me, this is an occupational hazard. That article is well written, and the analysis of the writer, according to the data he was looking at, is okay. However, being a professional deeply knitted into the industry, I just HAD to clarify.