'Google move must shift focus to jobs'

Google's decision to establish its first office in Pakistan and expand its initiatives in artificial intelligence, digital skills, education and local technology manufacturing has opened a new window of opportunity for the country to strengthen its digital economy and prepare its young population for the global technology market. The company's latest commitments, including free one-year access to Google Gemini for students, expanded digital skills programmes and support for local technology development, offer Pakistan a chance to build on its existing pool of IT professionals and freelancers. The bigger question is how effectively the country can turn these initiatives into long-term careers, businesses and technology capabilities. Ahmed Aziz, Executive Director of UAE-based technology company Aaronvio, sees the development as an opportunity to expand Pakistan's technology talent pool, particularly by giving students and developers greater exposure to AI. "AI skills are being promoted, students are getting free training and developers are being trained as well. So, our local talent will definitely grow," Aziz said. Pakistan already has a substantial community of IT professionals and freelancers serving international clients. Wider access to AI tools, combined with structured training, could give this workforce another layer of skills. The impact could extend well beyond the classroom. Students familiar with AI can use it for research, software development, problem-solving and entrepreneurship, while businesses can benefit from a workforce better prepared to adopt emerging technologies. Former SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Iftikhar Ali Malik has also welcomed the free Gemini access, saying it would allow Pakistani students to explore AI, improve their learning capabilities and develop skills suited to the changing global technology landscape. Malik stressed the need for educational institutions, industry and technology companies to work together to expand access to AI and other emerging technologies. He said greater familiarity with AI tools could improve research, productivity, creativity and problem-solving skills while preparing young people for employment opportunities in the global digital economy. This cooperation between education and industry could become particularly important as AI changes the nature of jobs. Training students to use AI effectively is only one part of the equation; connecting those skills with employers, startups and international markets will determine how much economic value Pakistan ultimately derives from the opportunity. Aziz said Google's engagement was significant because it extended beyond training and certifications. He pointed to local Chromebook assembly as another development that could contribute to a broader technology ecosystem. "The training, certifications and the local assembly line are all very good developments," he said, adding that such initiatives could help develop the country's technology environment and infrastructure. The combination of skills and infrastructure is important because a digitally trained workforce needs an ecosystem in which it can build products, launch businesses and compete internationally. Local manufacturing, technology training and stronger connectivity can contribute to that ecosystem. Another area Pakistan could potentially develop is cloud infrastructure. As businesses and public institutions increasingly adopt AI, demand for secure computing capacity and data infrastructure is expected to grow. Greater local cloud capacity could also help address concerns related to data privacy and data residency. "Hopefully, later on we can see proper cloud infrastructure being established here as well," Aziz said. "That would help address issues around data privacy and data residency." He cautioned that Google's Islamabad office should not be interpreted as a commitment to establish a major cloud region or hyper-scale data centre in Pakistan. Such investments would require separate commercial and infrastructure decisions. However, he sees the possibility as a longer-term opportunity. "If in the future this also leads to commitments from cloud companies and enterprise-level cloud data centres being established, that would make the overall initiative even stronger," Aziz said.