Socio-economic development linked with advancements in IT sector: President

July 31, 2019: President Dr. Arif Alvi says incorporating Information Technology is of paramount importance for sustainable economic development of a country in today's tech-driven world.

He was talking to a delegation, consisting of Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman and Secretary, Information Technology and Telecom, Shoaib Siddiqui, led by Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, which called on him in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The President said socio-economic development is deeply linked with the advancements in IT sector, making it all the more important for a developing country like Pakistan.

He said knowledge-economy is a pre-requisite to the comprehensive development of Pakistan for which we must provide distant learning to our populace who could not afford formal education and ensure its high quality.

He said Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to unleash the next wave of digital disruption, as already seen in real-life benefits for early adopting firms, making it more urgent than ever for all to accelerate their digital transformations.

The President said that Artificial Intelligence promises benefits as well as posed urgent challenges that cut across firms, developers, governments, and workers.

He said we must, therefore, prepare ourselves to reap the benefits of AI and minimize its perils.

He said there is also need to grapple with emerging ethical, legal and regulatory challenges that could otherwise holdback AI.