ISLAMABAD:Countries must ensure their citizens have a meaningful role in developing and shaping artificial intelligence (AI), rather than remaining consumers of technologies built elsewhere, said Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, JazzWorld,
Speaking at CNN Global Perspectives in Doha, Qatar he argued that AI sovereignty must extend beyond technological ownership to enable people to contribute to the intelligence increasingly shaping their economies, institutions and everyday lives.
Speaking during a session titled ‘The Sovereign Stack,’ Ibrahim challenged the conventional understanding of AI sovereignty, which often centers on data residency, computing infrastructure and domestic AI models. While these capabilities are important, he maintained that genuine sovereignty also requires citizens to participate in creating AI and influencing how it is deployed.
‘In AI, we talk about the human-in-the-loop approach. At the country level, we need a citizen-in-the-loop approach,’ Ibrahim said, emphasizing that people must have a meaningful role in shaping the technology that influences their lives, said a press release.
Drawing on the five-layer AI framework popularized by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Ibrahim noted that countries face different constraints in developing energy resources, chips, computing infrastructure, models and applications. While replicating every layer independently may not be practical for emerging economies such as Pakistan, building domestic computing capacity, technical expertise and AI development capabilities is essential. International partnerships can help bridge gaps, but countries must also develop the ability to create their own models, applications and intellectual property.
He cautioned that adopting global technology must not mean outsourcing the thinking that shapes a country’s future. Pakistan must move beyond AI consumption towards contributing to its development, creating systems that reflect local languages, cultural contexts and economic needs while enabling Pakistani researchers, developers and businesses to participate in the global AI economy.
At JazzWorld, this ambition is reflected in its efforts to build AI capabilities across its digital ecosystem. JazzWorld is also engaging with government and academia to strengthen locally relevant AI capabilities, recognizing that building a domestic AI ecosystem requires collaboration across industry, research and public institutions.
Ibrahim also identified trust as a fundamental requirement for meaningful AI sovereignty. While data residency and security remain important, keeping information within national borders does not automatically guarantee that AI will serve a country’s interests. Trust also depends on how data is used, whose perspectives shape AI systems and whether their outputs are reliable.
‘Technology gives you capability. Transparency lends credibility to that capability. But trust is ultimately what determines whether you have earned the right to remain at the table,’ he said, underscoring the importance of responsible AI development and deployment.
Ibrahim further linked AI sovereignty to the growing intelligence divide between those able to use AI to learn, work and create and those excluded from these opportunities. Without broader access to AI tools, skills and infrastructure, emerging economies risk limiting the pool of talent and innovation needed to develop their own AI capabilities. Enabling more citizens to become creators, developers and entrepreneurs, rather than users alone, will be critical to building a competitive domestic AI ecosystem.
The session, moderated by CNN Anchor and Correspondent Eleni Giokos, brought together international leaders from the technology, infrastructure and innovation sectors, including Rajit Nanda, CEO of DataVolt; Dr. Mohammed Soliman, Director of AI and Compute Infrastructure at McLarty Associates; Abdallah Abu Sheikh, Founder of Mal; Dr. Chaouki Kasmi of EDGE Group and TACTICA AI; Rama Chakaki, President of Qatar Science and Technology Park; and H.E. Abdulla AlMisnad, Chairman and Managing Director of QAI.