OpenAI ChatGPT: Generative AI Buzz in Pakistan

A Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Group-IB discovered in June that over 100,000 ChatGPT user accounts were compromised and their credentials found on the Dark Web. Among the accounts reported compromised, India topped with 12,632, followed by Pakistan with 9,217 and Brazil with 6,531. Bangladesh witnessed the fewest instances with 2,463. This report gave a glimpse of the high interest level of Indians and Pakistanis in generative AI.  Another report attributed to Similarweb, which tracks popularity of websites by number of visitors, ranked ChatGPT in Pakistan at number 7, ahead of Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Globally ChatGPT website is ranked 17th. Prior to this, there was a series of news reports about the launch of Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Computing (PIAIC) by President Arif Alvi, and then came the government's policy to train one million AI experts in the country by 2027. Pakistanis published 2,600 AI-related research papers from 2016 to 2020, according to Statista

Top 10 Countries by Number of ChatGPT Accounts Compromised. Source: Group IB


Back in 2017, then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) in Islamabad. It was followed by a Rs 1.1 billion budgetary allocation for select universities with AI research to be coordinated by NCAI. In 2020, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) set up a Center of Artificial Intelligence and Computing (CENTAIC). 

While OpenAI is the first to offer a Generative AI model trained on vast amounts of data, Google has also joined the generative AI race with its own offering. Google BARD appears to have capabilities similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Very little is known about the specific datasets used for training either of them, raising some trust issues about the results produced by them. 

Training/Using Generative AI Foundation Models. Source: Analytics Vidhya

Top global cloud operators Amazon, Google and Microsoft are now offering generative AI services to their clients for an additional fee. Cloud apps developers in Pakistan and elsewhere can train these base  models on their custom datasets to develop AI applications for agriculture, business, education, finance, healthcare, law etc. The AI market in Pakistan is currently estimated at $123 million by Statista Market Insights

Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently featured four Pakistani startups at the forefront of AI/ML: SalesFlo, Ozoned Digital, XpertFlow and Trukkr.  SalesFlo offers sales software for FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies.  Ozoned Digital caters to the technology needs of the insurance industry.  XpertFlow is an AI-powered preventative healthcare company.  Trukkr provides financial services and technology for logistics.  These and other startups are well positioned to take advantage of the new generative AI services being offered by cloud vendors. 

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Riaz Haq said…
ChatGPT Rapidly Penetrating In Pakistan Amongst Youth

https://thetruthinternational.com/latest-updates/chatgpt-rapidly-penetrating-in-pakistan-amongst-youth/

Similarweb, a renowned ranking service for internet services and websites, ranks ChatGPT at 7th position among the popular websites for Pakistani internet users.

This ranking places ChatGPT ahead of Instagram at 8th position, Twitter at 9th position, and TikTok at 10th. This trend shows the rapidly growing acceptance and usage of AI-powered conversational agents in Pakistan’s digital landscape.

Globally, OpenAI’s website secures the 17th spot with astounding 1.90 billion visits in the month of May alone.

Notably, over 81% of the visitors fall within the age range of 18 to 44 years, indicating ChatGPT’s widespread appeal among young and tech-savvy individuals worldwide.

The rapid success of ChatGPT is connected to its wide range of capabilities. Its users can leverage the chatbot to easily access desired information, generate content, and perform various tasks.

Its intuitive interface and powerful AI technology have made it an invaluable tool for individuals seeking instant answers, article writing assistance, and more.
Riaz Haq said…
Generative AI Will Sprint Into Your Business Through Four Doors


https://www.forrester.com/blogs/generative-ai-will-sprint-into-your-business-through-four-doors/

Generative AI (gen AI) was born on November 30, 2022, with the release of ChatGPT, and it’s been moving 100 miles an hour ever since, drawing in 100 million people and counting. As new and surprisingly powerful as gen AI is, we can already see how companies will incorporate gen AI capabilities into their businesses’ strategies and operations. Our experience with two earlier, explosive technologies show you how.

The BYO explosion of the late 2000s taught us how to incorporate employee-led disruption. We learned that when employees brought personal technology to solve customer and business problems. We empowered, guided, and protected employees and the firm while taking advantage of the new value that personal technologies in business brought.
The mobile, social, original internet explosions taught us how to respond to and take advantage of customer-led disruption. We built mobile apps to help customers in their mobile moments of need; we adopted social media communications to improve engagement and collaboration; and we tooled up to take full advantage of the business models shaped by the internet.
Technology executives should prepare for generative AI to follow both paths and sprint into your business through four doors:

Bottom-up. Some of the 100 million people already using generative AI work for you. As you learned in the BYOD era, employees will adopt any tool that makes them more successful. The hyperadoption of gen AI leads to rampant BYOAI adoption. You can’t stop them, not fully. Your job is to put up guardrails that protect the firm’s IP and teach the skills of responsible AI. You need guardrails because your company IP is at risk. Just like with the original onslaught of BYO, you need to tune in now and empower, guide, and protect employees and the firm. Sharpen your listening tools and network sniffers. Revisit and promote your responsible AI policies ASAP. Your response to BYOAI will shape your top-down approach to gen AI, because employees will have elevated their robotics quotient and will be ready to go.
Top-down. Gen AI will unlock the value of 10-plus years of investments in data, insights, and artificial intelligence, including machine-learning models. This is where your investments in trusted AI will pay off, because you’re ready to use them. Already, the hyperscalers and software-as-a-service platform providers have announced and will trickle release gen AI-infused applications. Already, service providers and you are using TuringBots to generate and test code. Already, you’re incorporating marketing content generated from text prompts to hyperpersonalize engagement. And soon, you’ll overhaul your usability with text-based interfaces to business and analytics applications. Every part of your business will have ideas on how to use generative AI, mostly to optimize, automate, or augment something. Some will be great. Pick the ones that are easiest, safest, and most practical to deploy first.
Outside-in. Customers’ expectations for what gen AI can do for them are rising faster than anybody can keep up with. Every day, there is a new application using gen AI to do something useful. The latest I saw was a “free” cover-letter generator using GPT-4. (“Free” means that they’re accumulating your job preferences to resell as insights.) Microsoft triggered the search wars with OpenAI in Bing, and Google is now full-on engaged with Bard. Already, in the US, 35% of Gen Zers and 25% of Millennials have used bots to help buy hard-to-find inventory. That bot habit will be supercharged with gen AI, raising expectations even higher.....
Riaz Haq said…
Lahore’s Tech Renaissance: From Astrolabes To AI
Amir Husain

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amirhusain/2023/03/29/lahores-tech-renaissance-from-astrolabes-to-ai/?sh=edfd3c312c87

Amir Husain is the Founder & CEO of the global AI company, SparkCognition, and the CEO of SkyGrid.

Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Our first public event was at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), a prestigious institution renowned for its research and entrepreneurial spirit. Prof. Porter and I had the opportunity to deliver talks on entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence (AI) to an enthusiastic audience of students and faculty members.

Prof. Porter's talk focused on the three generations of AI, tracing its development from search algorithms to expert systems and the Generative AI explosion. The lecture provided insights into AI's potential to transform industries and our daily lives.

IoT, EVs, and Quantum, Oh My!

We encountered three standout teams pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation. The first was the quantum computing group at LUMS which has developed and indigenously built an experimental quantum information processor. I was told by Dean Anwar of the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) that this device has two entangled physical qubits based on single photons from a heralded source. This effort lands LUMS on a short list of global quantum computing research organizations. Applications of quantum computing may eventually revolutionize materials science and much more. It was quite impressive to see a cutting-edge effort like this underway at the school.

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Aitchison College

Our next stop was my old alma mater, Aitchison College, a prestigious K-12 school founded in 1885. Boasting one of the world's most beautiful campuses on a sprawling 200 acres of land, the school has evolved from an elite institution to offering full-ride scholarships for applicants from diverse backgrounds.


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Entrepreneurs in Lahore

During our trip, we interacted with numerous entrepreneurs who have contributed significantly to Lahore's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Among them was the legendary Syed Babar Ali, founder of LUMS and Chairman of Packages Ltd. Babar Ali is one of the most admired Pakistanis globally. In his long list of laurels is his dedication to environmental conservation and a term as the President of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), which he took over from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1996. His contributions to industry and education are immeasurable. At the young age of 97, he continues to work from his office daily, maintaining a hectic and full schedule. His unwavering dedication and passion are truly inspiring.
Riaz Haq said…

Bloomberg

Tech industry standout Nvidia gave another stunningly strong quarterly revenue forecast, fueled by surging demand for its AI processors in data centers. Faced with a surge in demand for chatbots and other tools, data center operators are stocking up on the company’s processors, which are adept at handling the heavy workloads required by artificial intelligence. That’s helped Nvidia quickly pull out of an industrywide chip slump and accelerate sales growth to its fastest rate in years.

Broader markets cheered the company’s good fortune. Stocks climbed the most since June while bond yields fell. A $200 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) gained after Nvidia’s bullish revenue outlook. Its shares jumped about 9% in extended trading. The highly anticipated results are expected to impact investment decisions over the next few months. Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, says “there’s been an ongoing debate on whether Nvidia is even more important to the broad trajectory of markets than Fed Chair Powell’s comments from Jackson Hole on Friday.” —David E. Rovella
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence For Transformative Public Policy And Administration – OpEd

https://www.eurasiareview.com/13082023-pakistan-harnessing-artificial-intelligence-for-transformative-public-policy-and-administration-oped/

August 13, 2023 0 Comments
By Mir Hassan

Predicting the future is not magic, it is Artificial Intelligence. In recent years, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various sectors has garnered significant attention.

Pakistan, like many other countries, has recognized the potential of AI to revolutionize public policy and administration. This article delves into the role of AI in shaping and enhancing public policy and administration in Pakistan, examining its benefits, challenges, and the path forward.

Benefits of AI in Public Policy and Administration:

Data-Driven Decision Making; AI facilitates data analysis on a scale impossible for humans alone. This enables evidence-based decision-making, leading to more efficient allocation of resources and targeted policy interventions. Predictive Analysis; AI algorithms can analyze historical data to predict future trends and challenges. In the context of Pakistan, this could aid in predicting disease outbreaks, managing disaster response, and optimizing infrastructure development.

Citizen Engagement; AI-powered chat bots and virtual assistants can streamline citizen engagement by providing real-time responses to queries and concerns. This fosters transparency, responsiveness, and accountability within the government.

Efficient Service Delivery; through automation and optimization, AI can streamline administrative processes, reducing bureaucracy and enhancing service delivery. This is particularly relevant for services like tax collection, licensing, and social welfare programs. Fraud Detection and Prevention; AI algorithms can identify patterns of fraudulent activities, helping to curb corruption and ensure efficient use of public funds.

Challenges and Considerations:
Data Quality and Privacy; AI relies heavily on data, and ensuring the quality, accuracy, and privacy of data is paramount. Pakistan must establish robust data protection regulations to safeguard citizen information.

Skill Gap; the successful implementation of AI requires a skilled workforce adept in AI technologies. Pakistan needs to invest in education and training to bridge the skill gap in this field.

Ethical Concerns; as AI systems make autonomous decisions, ethical considerations arise. Policymakers must grapple with questions of accountability, bias, and the potential for AI systems to amplify existing societal inequalities.

Infrastructure; Adequate technological infrastructure is essential for AI implementation. Ensuring reliable internet connectivity and access to advanced computing resources is crucial.

Policy Framework; Developing a comprehensive policy framework that outlines the ethical, legal, and operational aspects of AI adoption is imperative. Clear guidelines are needed to address issues such as liability, accountability, and regulatory oversight.

Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence For Transformative Public Policy And Administration – OpEd

https://www.eurasiareview.com/13082023-pakistan-harnessing-artificial-intelligence-for-transformative-public-policy-and-administration-oped/

August 13, 2023 0 Comments
By Mir Hassan

The Way Forward:
To fully harness AI’s potential; Pakistan must adopt a multi-faceted approach:

Education and Research; Invest in AI education, research, and training to cultivate a skilled workforce capable of developing and implementing AI technologies. Public-Private Collaboration; Foster collaboration between the government, academia, and private sector to share expertise, resources, and best practices for AI integration. Regulatory Framework; Develop a regulatory framework that strikes a balance between encouraging innovation and addressing ethical, privacy, and security concerns. Pilot Projects; Initiate pilot AI projects in key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and education. These projects can serve as test beds for refining AI applications and identifying challenges. Awareness and Adoption; Raise awareness about AI’s potential among policymakers and the public, emphasizing its benefits and addressing misconceptions.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to revolutionize public policy and administration in Pakistan, enhancing decision-making, service delivery, and citizen engagement. However, its successful integration requires careful consideration of challenges and a collaborative, forward-thinking approach. By embracing AI and fostering an ecosystem of innovation, Pakistan can pave the way for a more efficient, responsive and inclusive governance system.
Riaz Haq said…
Google Gen AI on Agtech in Pakistan:

Pakistan is one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of food and crops. The country's agriculture sector consists of four subsectors:
Food and fiber crops
Horticulture and orchards
Livestock and dairy
Fisheries and forestry
Pakistan's major crops include wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, and maize. These crops contribute around 4.9% to the country's total GDP.
Some of the top agriculture startups in Pakistan include: Pak Agri Market, ZD&K Farms, Radical Growth, Mohalla, Khalis Fertilizers.
Some of the top agritech startups in Pakistan include:
Tazah Technologies
Agriculture Republic Pakistan
Crop2X Private Limited
Fowrry Technologies Private Limited
zamindar
SUSTAINABLE AGRI IS
Startups in Pakistan are developing IoT solutions for smart irrigation, such as solar-powered tube wells, or for animal data, such as Cowlar, a solar-powered fitbit for cows.

Riaz Haq said…
Why aren’t farmers using new tech?
Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio
Aug 30, 2023

https://www.marketplace.org/2023/08/30/why-arent-farmers-using-new-tech/

Agtech, short for agriculture technology, is a growing industry that’s using data tools and software to help farmers improve yields and use fewer resources.

With population growth increasing the global demand for food and climate change hurting crop yields, a swift adoption of agtech may be needed now more than ever. Yet, farmers are hesitant about embracing these new technologies.

What’s in the way of farmers quickly adopting agtech, and how can the industry get more farmers on board?

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal talked to reporter Belle Lin from the Wall Street Journal about her recent article on why so few farmers are using agtech. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Kai Ryssdal: Could we have a quick primer, please? What is agtech?


Belle Lin: Absolutely. Agriculture technology, agtech is really the set of tools — both hardware and software — that enables farmers growers to really get the most out of their farming resources and inputs and up boosting their yields. So that’s really the goal of this kind of current wave of farm technology. But it’s really the kind of larger ecosystem software, hardware, robotics, tractors autonomous maybe that allow farmers to kind of do their work with greater efficiency.

Ryssdal: So two things that you said there one yield and current wave, we’ll get to the yield in a minute. But I want to talk about current wave, because as you pointed out, in this piece, it’s been a decade-ish, that that sort of the bigger picture, agtech thing has been a thing.

Lin: That’s right. So it’s about a decade since data analytics and what’s sometimes known as Big Data came around. So, these massive amounts of data that oftentimes companies collect, can also be collected on Americans farms, where some of the environments where the richest data is to be collected. You can collect it on almost every single specific piece of land on the soil itself on the seeds that are planted, where they’re planted down to the type of pesticide that is applied to a single weed where that weed is located. So you can understand, you know, how specific these things can get. And that’s related to this idea of precision agriculture, where all these like very specific inputs tailored to a specific farm, help a farmer to end up doing their work in a way that’s more informed by that data, and boosts their yields with fewer resources.

Ryssdal: Right, so to that yield thing, that’s the name of this whole game — it’s getting more stuff out of the ground per acre farmed than they did before. And there’s an amazing statistic in here it says, according to the Department of Agriculture in 2017, farmers using digital soil maps, which are part of this technology produced about 49% higher winter wheat yields than farmers who didn’t. Again, that’s USDA data. And yet, the thrust of this piece is that farmers almost have too much data and kind of know what to do with it.

Lin: Yeah, absolutely. So not only is there this kind of challenge of getting farmers to use these tools, but once they’ve used them, they face this kind of data paralysis, which is how a farmer described this to me, he’s farming corn and soybean. He feels like he’s collecting so much data on all these different parts of his farm, that he doesn’t know what to do with it. And so that’s a huge problem as well across sectors where, you know, big data, data analytics has promised to kind of deliver all these efficiencies and productivity gains. But oftentimes, what consumers and these farmers feel is that they don’t have that background to say, “OK, now that I know the moisture levels of all my soil, this is what I should do,” right.

Riaz Haq said…
Why aren’t farmers using new tech?
Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio
Aug 30, 2023

https://www.marketplace.org/2023/08/30/why-arent-farmers-using-new-tech/

Lin: Yeah, absolutely. So not only is there this kind of challenge of getting farmers to use these tools, but once they’ve used them, they face this kind of data paralysis, which is how a farmer described this to me, he’s farming corn and soybean. He feels like he’s collecting so much data on all these different parts of his farm, that he doesn’t know what to do with it. And so that’s a huge problem as well across sectors where, you know, big data, data analytics has promised to kind of deliver all these efficiencies and productivity gains. But oftentimes, what consumers and these farmers feel is that they don’t have that background to say, “OK, now that I know the moisture levels of all my soil, this is what I should do,” right.

Ryssdal: I do not want to sound by any means ageist here, and apologies to the young farmers out there. But the average age of a farmer in this economy right now, as you point out is like 58.

Lin: Yeah, and that’s a big problem. Those folks are not as accustomed to utilizing technology to help inform their decisions.

Ryssdal: This is perhaps a little bit of field. But there’s an infrastructure part of this as well, right, in that a lot of almost all of this probably counts on connectivity and broadband. And I imagine if you’re out in in wherever you are on the Great Plains connectivity might be bad, you might not have service.

Lin: Yeah, that’s a great point. All of what we’re talking about in terms of agtech relies on having that internet connection, reliable way of streaming the data that you collect. And so connectivity is a major problem on farms that are far flung or not as connected to the internet speeds that people in cities are used to. And so one of the problems that farmers run into is that when they’re driving their equipment over a hill, for instance, you might have connectivity and one side of the hill, but you don’t on the other.

Ryssdal: Not to put a depressing punctuation mark on this conversation, but there are — I honestly can’t remember if it’s 8 or 9 billion people on this planet now — but there are going to be more in the future. And we have to feed them all. And this is part of the way we’re going to do it and adjust to climate change too, by the way.

Lin: Yeah, theoretically, farmers could boost their yields, and that would generate more food to feed the world’s growing and hungry population, and also in a way that they’re using fewer resources. So that’s the promise of it all, but right now it’s falling a bit short.
Riaz Haq said…
For an AI lesson, India must look back — 300 years

By Andy Mukherjee Bloomberg

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/for-an-ai-lesson-india-must-look-back-300-years-3059792

India’s dominance in tech outsourcing is facing an existential challenge not unlike what its world-beating textile industry battled — and lost — 300 years ago. In the early 1700s, it took 50,000 hours to spin 100 pounds of cotton. “Indian spinners were regarded as the most productive in the world, and they produced the best-quality product,” as Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, note in a new paper. By 1795, however, automation had crunched the labor demand to 300 person-hours. The profound impact of the industrial revolution on cotton-spinning may be poised for a repeat in a $250 billion white-collar powerhouse. Each year, 5 million Indians churn out billions of lines of code for global banks, manufacturers and retailers. Research by McKinsey & Co. showed last year that with generative artificial intelligence it’s possible to cut the time taken for code generation by 35 per cent to 45 per cent, and slash documentation time by nearly half. This is just the beginning. As generative AI morphs into artificial general intelligence — machines rivaling human cognitive abilities — even highly complex tasks may not require expert programmers.

The improvement in speed “can be translated into an increase in productivity that outperforms past advances in engineering productivity, driven by both new tooling and processes,” McKinsey says. But how will the gains be distributed between customers and software vendors? More importantly, how will they be shared between shareholders of outsourcing firms and their employees?

Acemoglu and Johnson glean insights for the interplay of machine and labor by comparing the age of AI to the early industrial revolution and the shift it produced in the thinking of David Ricardo, a prominent classical economist, ace bond trader and and politician. As the spinning jenny became progressively more efficient, suddenly there was a lot of yarn looking for weavers, creating lucrative new jobs. The golden age of weaving, the MIT economists surmise, is probably when Ricardo came to his famous conclusion that “machinery did not lessen the demand for labor.” It was when handlooms gave way to power looms in the early 19th century — leaving no alternative occupation for displaced labor — that Ricardo updated his view. He acknowledged in a 1819 speech to the British parliament that “the inadequacy of the wages to the support of the laboring classes” was one of “two great evils for which it was desirable to provide a remedy.”

India’s tech companies are stuck on Ricardo 1.0, and investing very little into a future where artificial intelligence has made their current code-writing business irrelevant. The optimistic view goes like this: Someone needs to prompt generative AI’s large language models with the right questions. Natural-language processing and prompt engineering will create jobs. Finding unique and affordable use cases — especially in local languages — may be another avenue for the most-populous nation to utilize its talent.

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Trouble is that artificial intelligence will come with its own power loom. Companies will recover their hefty investment costs by selling souped-up devices. “We expect AI-enabled hardware to be the only sustainable and meaningful way consumers and corporations begin paying for AI features, justifying billions of dollars invested in GenAI,” writes Nilesh Jasani of GenInnov, a Singapore-based global innovation fund.

Riaz Haq said…
AI policy to be presented before cabinet next month - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

https://www.dawn.com/news/1848297


Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said the final draft of the Artificial Intelligence policy would be presented to the federal cabinet for approval in August.

Addressing a meeting of the Special Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, he directed the quarters concerned to complete the consultation process with all stakeholders as soon as possible.

He highlighted the importance of AI in the modern era. “Artificial Intelligence is not the future but the present reality in the world,” he said, terming it an essential tool for advancement in multiple fields.

The minister recalled that it was the PML-N government that had established the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence in 2017 and the National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in 2023.

“We have created National Centres for Excellence in Advanced Technologies under Vision 2025 and linked each centre to engineering labs in eight to ten universities.”

He said the world was developing rapidly in various aspects of Artificial Intelligence, and Pakistan has to catch its pace.

He pointed out that some countries were not granting visas to Pakistani students for education in modern technology, but “we will obtain modern technology at any cost”.
Riaz Haq said…
Meet Shabnam Xai, Pakistan's First Ultra-realistic AI Influencer - Dataconomy


https://dataconomy.com/2024/07/26/shabnam-xai-pakistan-ai-influencer/

Shabnam Xai is making waves as Pakistan’s first ultra-realistic AI influencer. She made her Instagram debut on July 16, 2024, and has quickly captured people’s attention with her incredibly lifelike appearance and engaging content.

Who is Shabnam Xai?
Shabnam Xai is an artificial intelligence creation designed to look and act like a real person. She combines advanced technology with a realistic appearance, making her stand out from other digital characters. Her creation involves sophisticated computer programs that generate her lifelike photos and interactions. So, what Shabnam Xai do as an AI influencer?



On Instagram, Xai shares stylish outfit photos against beautiful backgrounds, showcasing her fashion sense. She has thoughts on various cuisines too. She also posts fitness content, including workout routines and health tips, to motivate her followers.



Xai’s TikTok presence adds another layer, with short, dynamic videos that complement her Instagram posts, providing an engaging mix of fashion, food, and fitness

Beyond her digital life, Shabnam Xai is pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). This academic pursuit highlights her interest in real-world issues and personal growth, setting her apart from typical digital influencers.

Rise of AI influencers
Shabnam Xai is just another example of what AI is changing in our lives. As she continues to grow and share content, she could inspire more AI-driven personalities in the future. Her role shows how technology and human-like interaction can come together in exciting new ways. And she is not the only one! Aitana López, Maia, and Lil Miquela are just some of the examples.



There are even AI beauty competitions, and Aitana Lopez, another AI influencer, has already joined them as a jury!

How to create your own AI influencer
influencers are virtual personalities generated by artificial intelligence, designed to interact with people on social media in a human-like manner. They can create content, engage with followers, and build a brand just like human influencers. Developing an AI influencer involves several steps:

Design: The virtual character’s appearance and personality are crafted using graphic design and AI technologies.
Training: AI models are trained to generate content, respond to interactions, and mimic human behavior.
Deployment: The AI influencer is integrated into social media platforms where it begins engaging with audiences.
For more detailed steps to create an AI influencer, visit our AI influencer guide.

AI influencers are used for marketing, brand promotions, and engaging with online communities. They can offer consistent and controllable brand messaging and have the potential to reach and influence large audiences. That’s why advanced machine learning algorithms and natural language processing techniques are employed to make the AI influencer’s interactions as realistic as possible.

Riaz Haq said…
Good news for Pakistani students as Google offers 45,000 AI Scholarships

https://pakobserver.net/good-news-for-pakistani-students-as-google-offers-45000-ai-scholarships/

ISLAMABAD – Search engine Google has been actively involved in supporting AI education in Pakistan, offering courses for students to learn about Artificial Intelligence, and now the tech giant comes with Google AI Essentials.

Google AI Essentials course for Pakistani students aimed at helping more individuals to learn latest AI skills.

The course will help beginners with no prior AI experience, offering much needed skills to enhance productivity and providing hands-on practice with various AI tools.

Google AI Course in Pakistan
At least 45,000 scholarships for Google Career Certificates are up for grabs. Google AI Essentials is available on Coursera in English and aims to teach people how to utilize AI tools to generate ideas and expedite daily tasks.

Students will help write effective prompts and use AI responsibly by recognizing potential biases. The Google Career Certificates (GCC) prepare learners for entry-level jobs in fields like Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, or Digital Marketing, providing new resources to help learners understand how professionals use AI in their fields and gain practical experience in applying AI to workplace scenarios.

In joint with Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), Google launched several programs to assist freelancers in the fifth most populated nation in enhancing their skills.
Riaz Haq said…
Coursera celebrates AI Appreciation Day


https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/coursera-celebrates-ai-appreciation-day-pdrcydqf

Learners in emerging markets, including India, Egypt, Pakistan, and Brazil, make up more than half (52%) of GenAI enrollments on Coursera as the learning platform is bridging the opportunity gap by expanding AI-powered translations to include more than 4,600 courses and 55 Professional Certificates in up to 21 popular languages, including Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish.

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HEC Pakistan success story | Coursera


https://www.coursera.org/enterprise/resources/casestudy/hec

Paving the way for Pakistan’s digital knowledge economy

Through a successful and transformative partnership with Coursera, HEC has ushered in a wave of impactful education, breaking barriers and shaping the educational landscape in Pakistan.

Access to quality education:

200+ universities gained access to Coursera’s library of courses, including COMSATS University Islamabad and University of Central Punjab.

Over 267,000+ courses completed with students logging over 1.4 million learning hours.

More than 45,000 learners achieved deep-skills specialized certifications from internationally recognized institutions, the most popular specializations being Communication, Data Analysis, and Leadership and Management.

Enhanced teaching through curriculum integration:

Faculty enhanced their curriculum by integrating Coursera content into projects and materials.

Students applied their newfound expertise, translating it into freelancing opportunities.

Profound learner satisfaction:

HEC conducted a learner survey which garnered 10,000 responses:

96% of respondents credited Coursera for enriching skills development, with steep trajectories in digital literacy.

99% expressed a desire to continue expanding their learning.

Over 60% received tangible career incentives, such as recognition or advancements, through Coursera courses.

“We’ve encountered our top Coursera learners leveraging their skills for success,” Tanveer continues. HEC’s survey encapsulates this notion, with 47% of freelancers saying Coursera courses helped to increase their earnings. “These individuals, based in Pakistan, capitalize on learned skills, securing freelancing opportunities and projects, earning in US dollars due to their global online presence.” Maqadas Manzoor, a learner who benefitted from HEC’s support, attests to Coursera’s positive influence on his freelance career. “Enrolling in Coursera has been a transformative experience for me. I enrolled in IBM’s full stack cloud computing course and got my certificate, which gained me valuable knowledge. I have since acquired projects from a cloud computing and web application services company.” This partnership between HEC and Coursera helped introduce flexible, specialized online education tailored to Pakistan’s needs, bringing world-class learning within reach across demographics. As Dr. Jamil, Member IT at HEC, attests, “Our initiative with Coursera ensures that Pakistani youth gain industry-ready skills affordably and at scale. The positive response from students indicates that we are on track to achieve HEC’s goals.” HEC credits Coursera for enabling it to deliver meaningful change on a national scale – one learner at a time.
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan Ranks 4th in the World in Chat GPT Awareness Index 2024

An AI Opportunity Agenda for Pakistan

https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/publicpolicy.google/en//resources/pakistan_ai_opportunity_agenda_en.pdf

If we want to fully harness AI’s transformative potential, we must focus our attention on what we want to achieve, not just what we want to avoid.
In this respect, Pakistan’s 2023 draft National AI Policy (Draft AI Policy) is commendable. It clearly demonstrates the Pakistan government’s appreciation of how AI can help the country sustain its national competitiveness and improve the lives of its citizens by outlining a wide range of developmental initiatives necessary for awareness and adoption of AI, reimagining the transparent and fair use of personal data using AI, and stimulating innovation through industry-academia collaborations and investments in AI-led initiatives.
AI awareness is rising among Pakistan’s general public. The country ranks fourth with 76% of people being aware of ChatGPT, according to Stanford University’s AI Index Report 2024.
Pakistan has also seen several private-sector led initiatives to create even more awareness of AI. For instance, Karachi.AI is recognized as a premier community for Applied AI practitioners. Established in 2017, the community proudly hosts over 10,000 members representing various domains. Its mission revolves around three central pillars: raising awareness, promoting engagement, and driving execution. Karachi. AI hosts regular meetups in Karachi, which are also live streamed on its YouTube channel, along with other educational content about AI.

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