Pakistan’s Indus AI Week reflects a growing shift in how the country is approaching artificial intelligence, not simply as a technological trend, but as a strategic tool for economic growth, public sector reform, and national competitiveness. In an article published on March 5, 2026, in the ProPakistani news platform, Muhammad Aslam Hayat, Senior Policy Fellow at LIRNEasia, notes that discussions during the event highlighted ambitions to use AI to improve productivity, create new economic opportunities, and enhance government efficiency. However, he argues that effective and trustworthy AI depends not only on algorithms or computing power, but also on strong systems of data governance. 
Pakistan’s Indus AI Week reflects a growing shift in how the country is approaching artificial intelligence, not simply as a technological trend, but as a strategic tool for economic growth, public sector reform, and national competitiveness. In an article published on March 5, 2026, in the ProPakistani news platform, Muhammad Aslam Hayat, Senior Policy Fellow at LIRNEasia, notes that discussions during the event highlighted ambitions to use AI to improve productivity, create new economic opportunities, and enhance government efficiency. However, he argues that effective and trustworthy AI depends not only on algorithms or computing power, but also on strong systems of data governance. 
Handshake AI out-earned its parent company’s entire decade of revenue in just two years. The surprise? This came not from Handshake’s core career platform, but from an unexpected pivot to data annotation. Back in 2023, CEO Garret Lord realized their real asset was the deep expertise embedded within its vast network of 1,500+ universities and over a million employers. That same strength, he saw, could power something bigger: the data behind AI.