A two-day artificial intelligence (AI) conference called “AI Connect” will begin on Wednesday in Lahore with the goal of “showcasing Pakistan’s talent” in the field. Motive (formerly KeepTruckin), a well-funded US-based startup with a sizeable team based in Pakistan, is organising the event.
The event will feature keynote speeches, fireside chats, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with the top AI researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the world, according to a statement from the startup’s organisers.
The next generation of aspiring AI engineers and researchers, who would make significant contributions to the global AI economy, was to be “motivated, trained, and connected,” according to the organisers of the event.
According to the startup, many nations have created specific AI frameworks and policies to support educational initiatives and research and development facilities that advance economic and technological development.
A few examples are AI Made in Germany, the US executive order on leadership in AI, and China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan.
It emphasised that Pakistan must adopt similar policies and make investments in initiatives to foster young people’s enthusiasm for AI and contemporary technologies. According to the statement, this entails funding educational initiatives, research facilities, and training programmes for industry readiness.
It was an exception, according to Motive, because “it established its primary AI team in Lahore. This group includes several PhDs, postdocs in computer vision and machine learning, and engineers with strong backgrounds in academic research.
To keep our roads safer, prevent traffic accidents, and save lives, the team develops AI technologies. Thanks to R&D conducted primarily in Pakistan, they have already shipped industry-leading AI products, presented their work at prestigious AI conferences, and filed numerous patents, the statement continued.
In order to carry out various automation tasks, such as determining who is operating the vehicle, detecting risky driving behaviours, and automated driver coaching, to name a few, Motive claims that the engineers are deploying their solutions to hundreds of thousands of IoT devices in the field.
“AI, as well as innovation in general, is not a new concept in Pakistan. We have a large pool of talent and a rising number of educated young people. Along with being a fantastic engineering hub, our information technology (IT) sector is expanding. With over 25,000 recent graduates joining the workforce each year, we now have over 600,000 IT professionals, the company claims in a statement.
According to the report, Pakistan has about 17,000 software companies that offer services to more than 120 nations worldwide and generated $3 billion in IT export revenue last year.
The statement continued, “While the number of tech companies and startups offering services and developing products in the AI space is relatively small, it is encouraging to look at the research labs, startups, and companies engaged in both applied and scientific artificial intelligence research.”
Motive insisted on funding initiatives that close the gap between industry and academia and inspire young people to pursue AI research and education. “We must establish more institutes like the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and train some of our 600,000 existing IT professionals in AI.”
