The uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), its growing role in international relations, and the risks linked to increasingly capable AI systems were discussed at a seminar organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) in Karachi on Saturday. Titled “Artificial Intelligence: Emerging Trends and Global Implications,” the session opened with PIIA Chairperson Dr Masuma Hasan introducing the panellists. Dr Ammara Aftab, CEO and founder of Pro AI Global, also spoke at the event, presenting on AI diplomacy.
Syed Ammar Jaffri, founder of Digital Pakistan, spoke on the use of AI for the SDGs, saying the technology does not replace sustainable development institutions but augments human capacity to achieve these goals. He identified a wide range of areas where AI could support Pakistan, including climate and food early-warning systems, agriculture and food security, water management, healthcare, education, smart cities, skills development, financial inclusion, cybersecurity, digital government, disaster-risk reduction, and environmental monitoring. Jaffri said Pakistan has an opportunity to use AI not only to support economic growth but also to significantly improve climate resilience and the education system, particularly the issue of out-of-school children.
To illustrate the point, Jaffri presented a case study of an AI-powered flood early-warning system. He said such a system could combine weather forecasts, river levels, historical information, imagery, and real-time data with information about local roads to generate predictive analysis and location-specific warnings. In his view, this would help authorities prioritise evacuations and improve emergency planning in areas at risk of flooding, and its effectiveness could be measured through the amount of warning time available, false-alarm rates, the number of people reached, response times, and losses avoided. Given how often floods have hit Pakistan in recent years, the example showed how measurable targets can be attached to an AI project rather than leaving its benefits vague. Jaffri also stressed that AI systems must be developed alongside responsible governance, saying fairness, transparency, privacy, security, and human oversight are necessary for building trust in the technology.
The seminar also took up the darker side of the debate. Journalist Zarrar Khuhro spoke on “AI: The End of the World as We Know It? Why AI Developers and Whistleblowers Are Sounding the Alarm,” focusing on concerns about the development of increasingly capable AI systems. Referring to AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton and his warnings, Khuhro said there is growing concern about the possibility of humans losing control over these systems. He pointed to experiments involving AI agents in which systems displayed unexpected behaviour, including attempts at blackmail and actions carried out without instructions, as well as cybersecurity experiments in which agents tried to install or spread malicious software and cases in which AI systems presented themselves as humans online. “I find it very scary,” he said, and questioned what the consequences could be if such capabilities developed further into Artificial Super Intelligence. Together, the presentations gave the audience both a practical picture of how AI could serve development goals and a sober reminder of the risks that come with more powerful systems.
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