Pakistan now ranks among the top five global users of artificial intelligence tools, prompting experts and policymakers to call for clear ethical guidelines and practical policies to manage fast adoption and safeguard jobs.
A new survey by the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society ranks Pakistan fourth out of 21 countries for use of AI tools and applications.
The study finds that Pakistanis hold a broadly positive view of AI. India leads with 43 percent of respondents saying they feel very positive about AI. Kenya follows with 29 percent, Brazil with 27 percent, and Pakistan with 26 percent. In Pakistan, 39 percent of participants rated AI tools as fairly positive, 22 percent as neutral, 8 percent as fairly negative, and 5 percent as very negative.
According to experts, optimism in emerging economies is a sign of hope that AI will generate employment, accelerate economic growth, and enhance government services. However, industry leaders caution that AI is replacing jobs in IT and service industries and that too much dependence on AI applications may result in a lack of critical thinking by employees.
By contrast, advanced economies show higher shares of negative sentiment. The United States recorded 34 percent of respondents saying they hold a fairly negative or very negative view of AI. Analysts associate this scepticism with political polarization, concerns regarding fake news and losing of jobs in the white collar sector.
Pakistan is also producing local AI products. The country has produced an indigenous chatbot called Zahanat AI that supports local languages. The growing AI conversation was underlined at a recent UNESCO dialogue titled AI for Humanity Ethical and Inclusive AI in Pakistan. The session brought together more than 25 stakeholders from the private sector, academia, civil society, and technology institutions to discuss the National AI Policy and the national innovation ecosystem.
Mehwish Salman Ali, co founder of Zahanat AI, said ethical and inclusive AI must be central to Pakistan’s digital future. She stressed that citizens should be equipped with AI skills so the country can tap its demographic strengths. Pakistan’s population stands at 224 million.
At the CIO Global 200 Summit, Umair Azam, CEO of Integration Xperts, warned that while AI can increase efficiency, misuse erodes credibility and harms critical thinking. He urged organisations to appoint AI champions and to adopt firm policy frameworks for ethical use.
Pakistan has more than 146 million broadband users and growing AI potential. A separate survey by P@SHA indicates that some companies are reducing hiring in areas where AI replaces human roles. The trend brings up questions of skills, employment, and the social impact of fast AI adoption in the long term.