AI factories key to bridging emerging ‘Intelligence Divide: CEO Aamir Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD, Sep 17 (APP):CEO, JazzWorld, Aamir Ibrahim,  highlighted AI factories as key to bridging the emerging “intelligence divide,” warning that the rise of artificial intelligence could widen the gap between those with access to AI-powered capabilities and those without.

Delivering welcome remarks at the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit during the inaugural session, “The Next Move: Reading the Moment,” Aamir was joined by Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder and Chairman, Nutshell Group and former Minister for Investment, and Dr. Faisal Hashmi, Senior Director Public Affairs, Sustainability & Communication, Pakistan & Afghanistan Region, The Coca-Cola Company. He said Pakistan must look beyond existing export sectors and deliberately build the infrastructure and capabilities required to participate in the rapidly expanding global AI economy.

While discussing AI factory, Aamir said it depends on inputs such as energy, compute, data centres and data, while its outputs can range from AI inference and tokens to software, code, video and audio. With significant global investment flowing into AI infrastructure, he said Pakistan has an opportunity to develop these capabilities. “Pakistan has woken up to these realities. We need to be very intentional about building this capability and turning it into an export opportunity. One of our biggest opportunities is to export inference through AI,” he said.

Aamir said Pakistan should aspire to become an “AI maker” rather than simply consuming technologies developed elsewhere, building systems that can serve global markets while understanding the country’s languages, culture, security requirements and local context. He also underscored the importance of sovereign AI, saying it goes beyond keeping data within national borders to ensuring greater control over the country’s cognitive layer.

Highlighting the risk of an emerging “intelligence divide,” Aamir said AI will increasingly determine access to capabilities such as education, analysis, information and software development. “The digital divide was about access to connectivity and information. The intelligence divide will be about access to capability. We need to make sure that there is an intelligent future for every Pakistani — a smartphone in every hand, and intelligence available to everyone,” he said.

Later, addressing the closing leadership dialogue, “From Strategic Relevance to National Advantage,” during the summit’s closing session, “The Next Move: Pakistan’s Moment of Choice,” Aamir joined Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, former caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan; Senator Dr. Musadik Malik, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination; Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, former Chief of Air Staff; and Ziad Bashir, Chairman, Pakistan Business Council, in a discussion moderated by Fahd Husain, Anchor, Columnist and Executive Editor, The Express Tribune.

Building on his earlier remarks, Aamir emphasized the need to translate Pakistan’s strategic potential into economic opportunity.

He said compute, data centers, reliable energy and connectivity will be critical to participating meaningfully in the global AI value chain, while stronger local AI capabilities can address domestic needs, broaden access to intelligence and create new opportunities for exports and economic growth.