B-8: Telecom and the Digital Future of Pakistan: Artificial Intelligence, Connectivity, and the Frontiers of Development
- Develop a national framework for ethical and
transparent Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployment, ensuring all public and
private applications meet standards for accountability, fairness, and data
protection.
- Prioritise investment in digital infrastructure,
including fibre-optic expansion and spectrum optimisation, to support large
language models and high-capacity AI systems.
- Reform taxation policies that currently restrict
digital growth by introducing technology-specific exemptions or incentives for
innovation, connectivity, and local telecom providers.
- Encourage local telecommunications enterprises
through simplified licensing and shared-spectrum models to increase rural
connectivity and reduce dependence on a few major operators.
- Promote AI governance focused on inputs rather
than only outputs, treating data quality, ethical use, and inclusivity as
national assets alongside financial capital.
- Launch nationwide re-skilling and up-skilling
initiatives in data science, AI, and digital literacy to prepare the workforce
for rapid technological transformation.
- Ensure technology neutrality in regulation,
enabling multiple digital solutions to coexist without bias toward specific
platforms or providers.
- Establish technology marketplaces and innovation
zones to attract domestic and foreign investment in AI applications, start-ups,
and connectivity solutions.
- Introduce basic regulations on data privacy,
confidentiality, and monetisation, coupled with clear guidance on data
ownership and cross-border data flows.
- Integrate
AI-based predictive models into national risk-reduction and climate-adaptation
strategies, using big data to improve disaster preparedness and environmental
monitoring.
- Promote
inclusive digital development, ensuring that marginalised communities, women,
and youth benefit equally from AI and connectivity initiatives.
- Create a multi-stakeholder
AI and digital governance council ass outlined in “Pakistan’s National AI
Policy, 2025” involving government, academia, industry, and civil society to
monitor ethical standards and coordinate digital policy implementation.