IT comes and goes

Delusion seems to be the only thing that can explain government officials’ happy faces at the first-ever Meta Llama Pitchathon in the Asia-Pacific region, hosted by the National Incubation Centre for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT), in partnership with Meta, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, and the Ignite National Technology Fund. This is not to take a jab at what state institutions have been doing to present Pakistan as a tech destination. It is great that Pakistan is showing its willingness to tap into a lucrative sector. But all the great talk means nothing if not backed by meaningful action. Only a few days before this event, Pakistanis faced severe internet outages, which led an online freelance service marketplace to temporarily suspend accounts of Pakistani sellers to ensure its site users are not inconvenienced. Internet disruptions also forced the Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA) to release a warning letter, informing the government that the IT industry could suffer a loss of $300 million if things do not change. According to reports that quote Statista, Pakistan bore the loss of over $200 million in 2023 because of continued internet disruptions. Lack of clarity on the government’s part (authorities are still not sure whom to blame for this mess: firewall, sharks or enhanced internet monitoring) has also created uncertainty, which will have a negative impact on investor confidence.

It is rather surprising that Pakistan is bent upon sabotaging an industry that is completely under its control. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly pointed out that the agriculture and IT sectors are independent of the IMF’s dictation, and the government could make the most of them to improve its exports. It is a tragedy then that authorities are meddling with the only sector that has the potential to thrive even when the overall economy is precarious. The world is moving towards adopting AI to revolutionize industries. In Pakistan, the adoption of this technology is still in its nascent stage. In the recently held event, IT officials acknowledged how AI could help towards growth. We are yet to see how the government would integrate it in everyday activities. For starters, industries looking forward to adopting AI have to see it as something that can help humans, not kick them out of the equation. In sectors that require long hours of manual labour – textile factories, real estate, etc – AI could assist workers, allowing them to perform their duties with less physical strain. This would give them time to work on advancing their skills, which will help them stay in the workforce for long periods.

But this ideal scenario is not possible on the back of an unstable internet connection. It is true that Pakistan is susceptible to cybercrime, but almost all countries have found a way to minimize the threat without hurting their economy. Pakistan has to follow their model to avoid internet disruptions and provide a smooth working environment to its people here. The country is already witnessing a mass exodus of people, with most people planning to move out if a good opportunity comes their way. A nation cannot progress by exporting its talented workforce. It is high time Pakistan realized its mistake and took a better decision to save a lucrative economic sector. Till then, all tech events are nothing but our version of a Potemkin reality.