A report by Oxford Insights, a UK-based think tank that assesses the readiness of governments to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in the delivery of public services, ranks Pakistan 8th out of 17 countries in South and Central Asia — behind India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan drafted its national AI policy in 2021. Data Darbar, an NGO focused on Pakistan's tech industry, has criticized the policy for its lack of comprehensive and systematic applications for AI in various sectors and industries. 

Data Darbar's co-founder, Natasha Uderani, told DW that Pakistan still needs to establish a better national strategy and invest more in AI-focused education, and would benefit from "more vocational programs to upskill the current workforce."

Pakistan's AI progress marred by 'slop'

In the meantime, the lack of up-to-date national regulations has provided fertile ground for the creation of so-called AI "slop," a term that refers to often low-quality visual content — generated using cheap and widely available AI tools — that increasingly appears to be flooding social media platforms, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

Nighat Dad, executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), an NGO that advocates for safer digital spaces, told DW that while "technology moves fast, adoption outpaces regulation every time."

She said that the ease with which "fake news, propaganda, or hateful content" is created with AI tools "can escalate polarization and even fuel violence."

"And while these tools are built globally, we in the Global South often bear the brunt of their unregulated harms, without having any real say in their design or governance," Dad added. 

An investigation by DRF uncovered a network of YouTube channels that "frequently publish content on pension schemes, use generative AI for visuals, and adopt official-sounding names that misleadingly suggest affiliation with the Pakistani government." 

"Among the accounts producing this content was a YouTube channel named Pak Gov Update, which began uploading such videos just weeks ago," according to DRF.

Pak Gov Update uploaded a nearly 30-minute-long video, "Jay-Z Breaks His Silence on Diddy Controversy," which features a thumbnail of the US rapper. 

According to the DRF report, the publishing of AI slop has brought into question YouTube's own policies by encouraging a "growing ecosystem of deceptive, monetized content."

Legitimate opportunities

However, for others in Pakistan, AI-generated content has brought creative and economic opportunities.

Zubair, a 20-year-old entrepreneur based in the Pakistani city of Karachi, had been struggling to make ends meet by making clickbait YouTube videos and thumbnails.

But since he started working with AI tools, he earns around $2,000 (€1,700) per month — and has even launched his own company that creates high-quality content for clients.

"It used to take me almost five hours to edit thumbnails on Photoshop, but with AI tools, I can do the same work in minutes and get paid the same," said Zubair, who did not provide his last name.

"When I started making more money in less time, I got a chance to train myself more and can now work with higher-value clients," he said, adding that AI has helped opened the door to even bigger opportunities.

YouTube recently announced an update to its policies to crack down on creators' revenue generation from "inauthentic" and AI-generated clickbait content.

On July 15, the company updated its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) monetization policies with more detailed guidelines on the use of AI.

However, critics say that even previously existing YouTube policies failed to address the widespread proliferation of AI-generated clickbait content. Thus, the immediate impact to demonetize channels farming such content in Pakistan will be slow, if at all.

AI 'upskilling' and innovation faces investment bottlenecks

Many established creative content owners have turned to upskilling their teams and iterating their business models to make way for AI projects.

Abrar ul-Hassan, who founded Morango Films, a media company based in Islamabad, started to transform his production house by learning AI skills.

He acknowledged that to create authentic and high-value content on platforms, individuals and companies in Pakistan who can afford to should invest in globally uplifting the country's overall AI profile.

"There are not many limits to creation with AI, you can create content with multiple scenarios and people from all around the world with a lot more freedom, less time and less money. But we have to ensure we aren't furthering the biases in AI and society," he told DW. "AI upskilling is not just about the tech, but the ethical understanding, as well."

The French Development Agency recently ranked Pakistan as a "mid-level performer." The agency said that Pakistan showcased "moderate advancements in infrastructure and human capital readiness."

However, chairman of Pakistan's National Center of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) Yasar Ayaz noted that AI development in Pakistan is facing a chicken-and-egg situation in investment. He suggested that an initial injection in AI technology could make Pakistan more attractive to foreign investors.

"We don't have the capacity to become AI developers, but we are making strides in deployment," Ayaz told DW. "We have several products and solutions that can be exported to other low-income countries, as our needs are similar, and can bring our solutions to a global platform that will bode well for our AI track record to be investment-ready," he told DW. 

Edited by: Keith Walker