ARTIFICIAL intelligence is no longer a distant promise whispered in tech conferences. It is here, in our phones, our banks, our classrooms, in the decisions that quietly shape our lives. It is often described as the new electricity. But electricity lights homes equally. AI does not.

Across the world, governments are moving from experimenting with AI to embedding it in the architecture of governance. Pakistan is no exception, and rightly so. At Indus AI Week 2026, policymakers, entrepreneurs and technologists gathered with a sense of optimism. The National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025 sets out an ambitious roadmap for skills development, rese­arch ecosystems and responsible adoption.

The future is arriving fast. But the future does not arrive evenly.

Consider Shazia. She lives in a small village. She shares a mobile phone with her husband. She checks her messages when he is home. She has never appeared in a dataset as an independent digital citizen. Yet automated systems in taxation, social protection, employment screening and public services are increasingly being designed to ‘serve’ citizens like her.

The future is arriving fast. But the future does not arrive evenly.

I often think about women........

© Dawn