Comment by Riaz Haq on June 18, 2023 at 6:44pm

Ultra-rich individuals are projected to keep leaving India in 2023. Why do the rich migrate from a country?

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/exp...

According to the latest edition of the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report (2023), India is expected to witness a net outflow of 6,500 ultra-rich. The more technical term for these ultra rich is High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) and it refers to people so rich that they have an investable wealth of US$1 million or more. In rupee terms that threshold means Rs 8.2 crore or more. Investible wealth refers to an individual’s net investable assets, namely, all their investable assets (property, cash and equities) minus any liabilities.

India’s likely net outflow (net of inflow and outflow) in 2023 will make it the second worst performer on losing HNWIs after China. In 2022, India saw an outflow of 7,500 such individuals.


“The top five destinations for net inflows of high-net-worth individuals in 2023 are projected to be Australia, the UAE, Singapore, the USA, and Switzerland. On the flip side, the largest net outflows of millionaires are expected to come from China, India, the UK, Russia, and Brazil,” writes Andrew Amoils, the Head of Research at New World Wealth, the organisation that provides the data for this report (SEE CHARTS 1 and 2 for countries witnessing biggest net outflows and inflows).


To be sure, as of the end of 2022, India was among the 10 richest countries in the world — ranked 10th in the so-called W10 grouping — if one goes by the HNWI population. India has 3,44,600 HNWIs, 1,078 centi-millionaires (those with wealth exceeding $100 million) and 123 billionaires (those with wealth exceeding $1 billion or Rs 8,200 crore). India has a population of 1,428 million.

For comparison, China has 7,80,000 HNWIs and 285 billionaires while the US (with a population of just 340 million) has 52,70,000 HNWIs and 770 billionaires. The W10 includes (in order of HNWIs in each country) the US, Japan, China, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, France, and India.

Explaining what motivates the world’s wealthiest to migrate from one country to another, Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, writes:

“Affluent families are extremely mobile, and their transnational movements can provide an early warning signal in terms of a country’s economic outlook and future country trends. Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, they alert us to dangers that may lie ahead as they are more sensitive to potential threats to their wealth and usually have the resources to take a corrective course of action to preserve their legacies. An increasing outflow of millionaires often points to a drop in confidence in a country, since high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals have the means to leave and are usually the first to exit and vote with their feet when circumstances deteriorate.”

What are the top priorities of the wealthy?
Steffen writes that “political stability, low taxation, and personal freedom have always been key metrics for millionaires when it comes to deciding where to live. However, the priorities of affluent individuals are shifting to the intangible but equally vital elements that impact; their children’s prospects, the quality of their lives, and the legacies they leave.”

He points out that apart from being a safe haven for wealth, security is also a key factor, “which is why so much private wealth is flowing into countries that offer a robust regulatory environment where the rule of law is respected, and economic freedoms are guaranteed.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 18, 2023 at 6:50pm

Over 75% of the world's poor deprived of basic living standards (nutrition, cooking fuel, sanitation and housing) live in India compared to 4.6% in Bangladesh and 4.1% in Pakistan, according to a recently released OPHI/UNDP report on multidimensional poverty. Here's what the report says: "More than 45.5 million poor people are deprived in only these four indicators (nutrition, cooking fuel, sanitation and housing). Of those people, 34.4 million live in India, 2.1 million in Bangladesh and 1.9 million in Pakistan—making this a predominantly South Asian profile".

https://www.riazhaq.com/2022/10/multidimensional-poverty-india-is-h...

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 18, 2023 at 8:21pm

#India’s deadly #traincrash: Forget the truth, blame it on #Muslims. It’s the latest instance of how in an #Islamophobic India, justice and accountability have themselves been derailed. #Hindutva #Islamophobia #Modi #BJP https://aje.io/dqenql via @AJEnglish

By Apoorvanand

Apoorvanand teaches Hindi at the University of Delhi. He writes literary and cultural criticism.

It happens only in India that even a train accident is used as an opportunity to demonise Muslims.

Just after the recent terrible train crash near Balasore station in the eastern state of Odisha, in which more than 280 people died, posts started circulating on different social media platforms and WhatsApp groups, blaming Muslims for the accident.

Could it be a coincidence that it was a Friday when three trains collided with each other in Odisha? As if the Friday angle was not sufficient, a lie was invented that the station master was Muslim. To make it look more sinister, the photo of a religious shrine near the railway track where the accident had taken place was spread on social media claiming that it was a mosque, suggesting that there must be some link between the mosque and the accident.

It was immediately exposed as a lie. It was a Hindu temple and not a mosque. But imagine if it had actually been a mosque – the baseless conspiracy theory would have received fresh wings.

Sadly, fact-checking only cements doubts created by fake news in minds that are already prejudiced against Muslims and are being told day and night that Muslims are conspiring against the nation. These are minds trained to think that there is a need to keep an eye on Muslims and to subjugate them using laws and, if necessary, violence.

The railway minister ordered an inquiry into the accident by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has long given up the pretence of acting as an independent investigative agency and is principally used to target political opponents and probe cases along ideological lines laid down by the country’s ruling masters.


In this case, handing the case over to the CBI circumvents the normal process in such situations, which is an investigation by the commissioner of safety. The result: Instead of paying attention to flaws in safety measures, which could raise uncomfortable questions for the government, the investigation into the accident will now keep alive a criminal conspiracy theory. It aligns with the rumours spread just after the accident.

Close on the heels of this accident, the chief minister of the state of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, made a speech to discourage the use of chemicals in farming. Giving it an anti-Muslim twist, he vowed that “fertiliser jihad” would not be allowed. He was using this occasion to target Bengali Muslims in his state, whose main occupation is farming. Suggesting that they were spoiling the land by using chemicals, he was giving yet another justification for evicting Bengali Muslims and taking away their land, building on a campaign he has relentlessly pursued in recent years.

Sarma is recovering from the defeat of the BJP, his party, in the legislative election for the state of Karnataka, where he was a star campaigner. He, along with other leaders of the BJP, turned the election into an anti-Muslim hate campaign, saying that he had closed hundreds of madrasas and would ensure that all are closed. He also parroted familiar tropes about Indian Muslims, portraying them as against family planning. Statistics show that rates of polygamy are almost identical among Hindus and Muslims in India, and Muslim fertility rates have fallen sharply in recent decades. But facts are inconvenient when the aim is to spread lies about a religious minority community.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 19, 2023 at 9:17pm

The Modi Decade by Shashi Tharoor - Project Syndicate

By Shashi Tharoor

The BJP’s belligerent Hindutva nationalism – which promotes a narrow interpretation of history and demonizes India’s minorities, particularly Muslims – can be likened to a toxin injected into the veins of Indian society.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/indian-modi-government...


Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government inaugurated a new parliament building in New Delhi. It was supposed to symbolize the vision of a “new India” that Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim they have been realizing during nine years in power. But the building has proved highly controversial, with 20 opposition parties boycotting the inauguration ceremony – the latest manifestation of the seemingly irreparable breakdown in relations between the opposition and the government.


---

Such initiatives are not perfect – toilets lack enough running water, women are unable to afford to refill gas cylinders, and electricity supplies are erratic. But they have undoubtedly improved the quality of rural life, especially in the poor states of the northern “Hindi Belt.”


----
But these successes have been offset by far less admirable policies. The BJP’s belligerent Hindutva nationalism – which promotes a narrow interpretation of history and demonizes India’s minorities, particularly Muslims – can be likened to a toxin injected into the veins of Indian society.

With BJP leaders and their acolytes in the Hindutva “Parivar,” or “family” of associated organizations, regularly spouting inflammatory and divisive rhetoric, it should be no surprise that violence has surged. Muslims have faced lynching by so-called cow vigilantes, and some Christians have been subjected to vandalism and assault during the Christmas season.

Though Indian elections remain free and fair, anti-democratic trends have taken hold between votes. Dissent is framed as disloyalty, with criticism of government policies labeled “anti-national.” The tax agencies and financial police have been unleashed against opposition leaders and their supporters, and “bulldozer justice” has been dispensed mainly against Muslim protesters – whose homes and businesses are literally bulldozed – without due process.

Moreover, the autonomy of Indian institutions – from the Reserve Bank of India to the Election Commission – has been weakened. Even the judiciary has come under pressure. Parliament has been reduced to a bulletin board for government decisions.

The Modi government has also fallen far short on economic policy. Despite the progress in areas like transport infrastructure and technology diffusion, India has a long way to go on many fronts, particularly schooling, skills development, sanitation, and public health-care facilities.

Likewise, the benefits of economic growth have failed to reach the poor and lower-middle class. Unemployment is at record highs, and female labor-force participation is plummeting. Many small and micro-enterprises had to be permanently closed after the disastrous demonetization of 2016. Farmers are struggling to cope with falling incomes. Budgetary allocations for many essential welfare programs, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, have dwindled. Crony capitalism is rampant.

The Modi government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis also left much to be desired. Though Indians were eventually vaccinated, images of migrant workers trudging homeward during a nationwide lockdown still haunt the country. And while the government claims that less than 500,000 people died, the World Health Organization estimates that the real figure is ten times higher, raising questions about the reliability of official statistics.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 4:28pm

A Pakistani University Employs Artificial Intelligence to Boost Agriculture

https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/sustainability/food-security-...

A member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in Pakistan, the Iqra University, appears to have spared the South Asian country of an impending food crisis, predicted within two years.

Agriculture is an indispensable component of economic growth, food security, job creation, and poverty reduction in developing countries like Pakistan. It accounts for almost a quarter of Pakistan's GDP and employs over one-third of its population.

The team of Dr Mansoor Ebrahim, Dr Kamran Raza, and Dr Hasan Adil at the university's Faculty of Engineering, Sciences, and Technology has developed 'Smart Farming,' an innovative urban farming solution of its own, reports UNAI.

The project's primary goal is to create a test bed based on the hydroponics technique that integrates the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) and systems with artificial intelligence (AI) to create an effective, controlled, and autonomous environment for plant growth.

Smart Farming is the adoption of Web 5.0 technologies into agriculture, with hydroponics being a notable example. This process involves cultivating plants without soil in nutrient-rich water. Dr Mansoor said that despite the various projects underway around the globe, there is yet to be a comprehensive solution providing all related elements in one package.

This project strives to provide an innovative solution to various agricultural problems in Pakistan, combining both physical and digital technologies for maximum sustainability and adaptability.

In addition to designing a completely monitored hydroponic farming system, the team has also incorporated an IoT interface in order to measure Total Dissolve Solids (TDS), PH, humidity levels and temperature, and perform automated operations to ensure optimal crop health.

Outlining the project's technological elements, Dr Mansoor explained that the sensors are employed to ensure a steady state of plants. Data collected from the IoT sensors is then processed and analysed by an AI-based system trained on both images of plant stages as well as live pictures of crop yield provided by drone cameras set to collect information at regular intervals.

The overall system can be managed and reset conveniently using a user-friendly, mobile-based application. Its pioneering framework promotes a number of advantages, such as superlative water saving of nearly 90 per cent, 25 per cent reduction in fertilizers and low area utilization, and leads to substantial cost savings on transportation and carbon emissions.

As a result, 'Smart Farming' has been praised at the national level and has been awarded funding by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Dr Mansoor, the project lead, points out that favourable results in the first phase are already visible, with many vegetables successfully grown and initial targets achieved. They have been able to perfect the nutrient solution that has yielded excellent outcomes. This remarkable crop output clearly illustrates that 'Smart Farming' is a promising and environmentally friendly method of cultivation. Moreover, its automated system reduces labour efforts, cost and area needed for cultivation, thereby making it suitable for urban setting.

Perfecting the algorithm still requires vast amounts of data sets to be fed into the system, training it and enabling it to make accurate decisions and craft flawless communication for its eventual purpose—automating the agricultural process altogether. Until that is achieved, this project will need to continue being a collaborative effort between machines and people,” said Dr Mansoor.

The initiative has tremendous potential for replication on a large scale, which could both sustain and give strength to the current labour market of the farming world, he declares.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 4:36pm

Over 100K ChatGPT accounts hacked, India & Pakistan top list of nations with most cases: Report

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/artificial-intelligenc...

A report from Group-IB, a cybersecurity leader based in Singapore, over 1,00,000 ChatGPT credentials surfaced on dark web marketplaces.

ChatGPT is the most popular application on the Internet right now. Owing to its super-intelligent abilities, millions of people are signing up for it around the world. Now, it seems thousands of ChatGPT accounts were compromised recently and India tops the list.

A new report has revealed that over 100,000 OpenAI ChatGPT credentials surfaced on dark web marketplaces between June 2022 and May 2023. Group-IB, a cybersecurity leader based in Singapore, identified as many as 1,01,134 stealer-infected devices with saved ChatGPT credentials.


The report by Group-IB’s Threat Intelligence unit said that Asia Pacific saw the largest number of ChatGPT accounts stolen by info-stealers, 40.5 per cent between June 2022 and May 2023. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe stood at second and third spots with 24,925 and 16,951 instances respectively.


When it came to the country-wise number of compromised ChatGPT credentials, India topped with 12,632, followed by Pakistan with 9217 and Brazil with 6,531. Bangladesh witnessed the fewest instances with 2,463.

The company’s threat intelligence platform found the compromised credentials in the logs of info-stealing malware that was traded on dark web marketplaces over the last year. The number of logs containing compromised ChatGPT accounts reached 26,802 in May 2023. The company’s findings indicated that a majority of the ChatGPT credentials that were up for sale on the dark web belonged to the Asia-Pacific region.

In the last few months, more and more professionals were using ChatGPT to enhance their productivity, software development, and even business communications. The chatbot stores the history of user queries and responses from the AI. Resultantly, any unauthorised access could potentially jeopardise confidential information. This sensitive information can be later used to target companies and their employees. Based on Group-IB’s latest report, ChatGPT is wildly popular in dark web communities.

Info stealers are a type of malware that gathers information saved in browsers such as cookies, browsing history, bank card details, crypto wallet information, etc. They collect this information from browsers installed on infected computers and later share it with the malware operator.

The info-stealers can also mine data from instant messengers and emails along with other sensitive information from a victim’s device. This kind of malware works indiscriminately and can infect as many computers at once via phishing or various other means to collect data.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 7:44pm

In a first, Pakistan sets up task force for ‘accelerated adoption’ of AI

https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2286746/pakistan


Key objective of task force is to develop roadmap for AI adoption in several government institutions
Minister says AI integration in governance, health care, education systems will revolutionize sectors
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has formed a national task force to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in different sectors, including business, development, governance, education, and health care, the Pakistani planning ministry said on Friday.

Governments as well as private sectors across the world are reaping exceptional benefits by integrating AI into their day-to-day functions. Global technology company, Intel, says that artificial intelligence can help companies and government institutions work efficiently, manage costs, and improve research, among other benefits.

The incorporation of AI in different government sectors will lead to improved decision-making processes, personalized medical treatments, and enhanced learning experiences and solutions that were previously unattainable, according to the planning ministry.

“Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has formed a 15-member National Task Force (NTF) on Artificial Intelligence (IA) for the country’s national development,” the planning ministry said in a statement.

“The key objective of the (NTF) is to develop a 10-year roadmap for accelerated adoption of AI in the business, development, governance, education, and health care sectors. The NTF force will comprise experts in artificial intelligence as well as representatives from the government and private sectors.”

The planning minister emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence for progress in the near future and stated that it would bring “transformative changes” in the fields of economy, governance, and education, according to the statement.

The task force aims to harness the power of AI for Pakistan’s development and growth while ensuring that the benefits are accessible to all segments of society.

“Establishing the NTF on AI is part of the government’s commitment to embracing AI and its potential to transform the country’s economic landscape positively,” the statement quoted Iqbal as saying.

By investing in AI, Iqbal said, Pakistan could unlock new opportunities for growth and development and improve the lives of its citizens.

“The integration of AI in our governance, health care, and education systems has the potential to revolutionize these sectors and bring about significant progress,” he added.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 9:57pm

AI in Pakistani courts of law | International Bar Association


https://www.ibanet.org/AI-in-Pakistani-courts-of-law

Abstract
A judge in a Pakistani court recently employed GPT-4, Open AI’s most advanced chatbot, to help render a judgment in a case. This decision sparked widespread debate regarding AI’s capabilities and the possibility of it replacing legal professionals, including judges. This article explores each aspect of the debate, as well as discussing the potential shortcomings and detriments of AI in a court of law.

The judgment
The case of Muhammad Iqbal v Zayad in the Sessions Court in Phalia, Punjab was a civil suit brought by the plaintiffs over a petrol-pump property dispute. Judge Amir Munir dismissed their appeal for an injunction. The court used GPT-4 to formulate the decision based on existing laws, finding that the chatbot’s suggestions were consistent with Pakistani law, specifically the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The judgment includes an explanation of how AI is shaping the future of legal decision-making, citing countries such as the UAE and China which have already used AI in courtrooms. It further reinforces the fact that the chatbot provides a logical explanation of relevant laws and procedures and states that the difference between GPT-4’s and the judge’s answers is ‘only in form and not in substance’. A point to note is that the use of GPT-4 did not influence the judgment and was only a test to explore the use of technology in deciding cases and reducing the burden on courts.

AI’s capabilities, shortcomings, and its role in courts
First and foremost, the information cut-off date for ChatGPT is September 2021 which makes it an unreliable legal assistant as it cannot advise on any laws or amendments preceding the cut-off date.

A more pressing issue is that of Open AI’s political compass. The software is essentially trained by human feedback, which results in it inheriting human-like qualities, specifically the general political biases of its users. While this could be a useful quality for content-writing, there is no place for a political bias in a court of law. Researcher David Rozado gave GPT-4 four political orientation tests, all of which came out as ‘broadly progressive’. Although ‘OpenAI is trying to make their latest GPT model more politically neutral’, Rozado notes, ‘this is a very hard problem to solve’ because much of the training material is itself biased. While AI made available to the public is in its nascent stages of development, it will require strict centric political moderation in the future if it is to be properly used in a court of law.

Unclear standards of accountability are another shortcoming of the use of AI in courts. If a case were to be misjudged based on the AI chatbot’s recommendations, it is unclear on whom the liability will fall: the judge who relied on the AI, the AI system, or the developers?

Lastly, there is currently no statutory framework regarding the use of AI in courts in Pakistan or any other country for that matter. AI cannot be completely integrated in courts unless it is heavily regulated by the law, providing limits and liability procedures.

In Australia, however, a decision from the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2016, McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd v Santam Ltd & Ors (No 1), required the review of a large number of documents which would require over 23,000 hours of manual review. The judge ordered the use of Technology Assisted Review (TAR) and stated that a seemingly impossible manual review would undermine the Code of Civil Procedure. Evidently, AI can be used to perform simple but time-consuming tasks involving legal expertise but it is not capable of formulating a judgement that takes into account not just the law but societal implications, human emotions and nuances.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 10:02pm

Explore the Transformative
World of AI
Witness AI in action at the AI Summit'23 - Pakistan's leading conference and expo on Artificial Intelligence.

https://aisummit.io/#summit-glance



The AI Summit will host a gathering of leading subject matter experts for talks & research presentations, along with specialized workshops on Artificial Intelligence.

The high-level conference will bring together forward-thinking enterprise brands, market leaders, AI & Big Data evangelists and start-ups to explore and debate the advancements in Artificial Intelligence & Big Data.

Join us for engaging talks, workshops & panel discussions, as well as interactive showcases of trailblazing work in AI.

------

https://www.app.com.pk/national/pakistans-first-artificial-intelligence-summit-concluded/

ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP):Pakistan’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit organized by a leading end-to-end digital services company 10Pearls concluded at the Pak-China Friendship Center here Monday.

The event was a massive success, with more than 1500 registrations, comprising professionals, students, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.

The AI Summit, first launched in 2019, aims to ‘explore the transformative world of AI’, share the latest developments in AI, recognize innovations by emerging AI entrepreneurs, power conversations with leading international and local AI experts, and provide hands-on knowledge about various AI tools, technologies, and techniques.

The 2023 edition of AI Summit, held at the ITCN Asia, featured 30-plus eminent speakers who conducted enlightening tech talks, stimulating panel discussions, and engaging fireside chats. The Summit also hosted hands-on workshops and showcased demos of new innovations by emerging AI start-ups.

Syeda Sana Hussain, Senior Director of People and Programs, 10Pearls said that the AI Summit 2023 was a huge success! It garnered massive footfall; the conference track and workshops were fully packed with a super-charged and enthusiastic audience.

All the emerging AI start-ups that showcased their products received phenomenal response, attracting the interest of potential investors and the public alike. This is the incredible success of AI Summit 2023 shows the transformative role AI can play in addressing the complex challenges of today’s world, and 10Pearls is thrilled to be at the forefront of leading in innovation.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2023 at 10:13pm

54 Universities and Colleges are offering BS Artificial Intelligence in Pakistan

https://www.eduvision.edu.pk/institutions-offering-artificial-intel...

Institute City Degree, Duration Fee Deadline
1. The Government Sadiq College Women University Bahawal Pur BS , 4 Years 31340 11-08-2023
2. The Islamia University Of Bahawalpur Bahawal Pur BS , 4 Years 47800 26-08-2023
3. Bacha Khan University Charsadda BS , 4 Years 0 17-10-2022
4. Gomal University D.i. Khan BS , 4 Years 0 18-11-2022
5. National Textile University Faisalabad BS , 4 Years 0 16-08-2022
6. The University Of Sufism And Modern Sciences Hala BS , 4 Years 24000 10-07-2023
7. University Of Haripur Haripur BS , 4 Years 38000 22-09-2022
8. Air University Islamabad BS , 4 Years 162340 07-07-2023
9. Bahria University, E-8 Campus Islamabad BS , 4 Years 172800 03-08-2023
10. Comsats University Islamabad BS , 4 Years 174000 12-07-2023
11. National University Of Computer And Emerging Sciences, Islamabad Islamabad BS , 4 Years 272000 05-07-2023
12. National University Of Modern Languages, Islamabad Islamabad BS , 4 Years 0 11-07-2023
13. National University Of Technology Islamabad BS , 4 Years 140000 02-05-2023
14. Mehran University Of Engineering & Technology Jamshoro BS , 4 Years 120000 22-05-2023
15. Dawood University Of Engineering And Technology Karachi BS , 4 Years 70000 10-08-2022
16. Sindh Madressatul Islam University Karachi BS , 4 Years 70000 14-07-2023
17. University Of Kotli Kotli BS , 4 Years 0 15-09-2022
18. Information Technology University Lahore BS , 4 Years 0 06-07-2023
19. Hazara University Mansehra BS , 4 Years 0 20-09-2021
20. Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan Mardan BS , 4 Years 75440 30-09-2021

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• Next ›
• Page