The New Horizon of “AI Race” – India Vs Pakistan

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The DeepSeek, an Artificial Intelligence company from China founded not more than two years ago in 2023, made headlines recently when its Large Language Model (LLM) surpassed the American OpenAi’s ChatGPT in number of downloads. The impact of this development reflected on stock market erasing market share of companies by around one trillion USD. Should this change be viewed as a major upset in tech industry only? Or is it going to have a more profound impact on the global power dynamics. The traditional parameters of gauging military might have been rapidly corroding over the years, as technology advances have taken place in Robotics, Drones Technology and AI the concept of boots on the ground is losing its significance.

The point, here is not to discuss foreign developed AI technology and evaluate which technology, American, Chinese or European AI model is best for Pakistan, but rather to understand that whichever foreign model Pakistan opts for will be a security breach for the country and the only way out of the situation is developing indigenous AI systems.

AI models are data-driven, relying heavily on information for training and operation. Dependence on foreign systems risks exposing sensitive data, be it military, infrastructure, or even citizen-related information to external parties. Indigenous AI models would ensure that a nation maintains full control over key areas like defense, cybersecurity, and intelligence, while relying on external systems would naturally increase vulnerability to espionage and sabotage.

India has taken some very positive steps in developing indigenous AI Eco-system in the country. India’s “Bhashini” initiative aims to support Indian languages, addressing gaps that tools like ChatGPT or Google Translate struggle to fill. These homegrown AI are much better trained to tackle national challenges in areas like agriculture, healthcare, and disaster management, the issues that are not prioritized by foreign developers. Another such initiative is “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-Reliant India) this initiative emphasizes on building local technology, including AI. Such investments in local AI not only create local jobs but also cultivate a robust tech ecosystem, fostering global leadership in AI innovation.

The role of AI in strengthening defence and intelligence setup of a country is expanding rapidly, as AI models improve their analytical capabilities their role in defense, from general surveillance, performance of reporting system to drone operations has increased, thus relying on foreign systems in these areas risks hugely compromising national security. Similarly, indigenous AI would be able to analyze intelligence securely, reducing risks of data leaks to foreign entities. Reportedly India’s AI-driven border surveillance systems have significantly contributed towards safeguarding sensitive military data within national boundaries.

India has made significant strides in AI development, starting with initiatives like the “National AI Strategy” at its base and later “Bhashini” targeting critical areas such as defense, agriculture, and local languages. It further built a strong public-private partnerships and funding around ₹3,000 crores for interdisciplinary cyber-physical systems to drive progress in the AI domain. Over the period India boasts a thriving AI start-up ecosystem, with over 1,500 start-ups and major contributions to global AI research.

Pakistan on the other hand, is at an earlier stage of its AI journey, the “National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI)” established under the government’s Vision 2025 initiative is headquartered at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad and operates research laboratories across six major universities in the country. The total number of researchers engaged in the process is much lower than the adversary country. Secondly efforts like the “Digital Pakistan Vision” are promising but require greater investment and strategic direction. The AI start-ups initiated by Pakistan are fewer than 50, at the most and the country has a much smaller global AI research footprint.

Comparison: Key AI Metrics for India & Pakistan 

Source: Internet

Developing home-grown AI models has become a strategic necessity for nations, especially when viewed through the lens of national security. India and Pakistan, in particular, stand at critical junctures where prioritizing indigenous AI development could have profound implications for their futures. While both India and Pakistan are making progress, India is clearly ahead in AI development due to stronger government policies, a larger talent pool, higher industry adoption, and greater investment. For Pakistan, overcoming challenges like limited funding and brain drain is essential to reduce the gap. It is crucial at this stage for Pakistan to implement Organizational Knowledge Management (OKM) as a cost reduction strategy; it will reduce research costs and increase innovation by fostering a knowledge-driven ecosystem within public and private organizations.

A national-level policy promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration should be developed as the foundation. This can include establishing OKM frameworks in key sectors like defense, education, healthcare, agriculture and especially AI to systematically capture, organize, and disseminate valuable insights. By prioritizing OKM, Pakistan can reduce redundancy, minimize resource wastage, and accelerate innovation, paving the way for sustainable economic growth.