KARACHI: Speakers at a conference discussed the advantages and challenges of artificial intelligence and observed that AI should be a thinking partner, not a thinking substitute, for students.

The conference titled ‘Justuju — Rethink School Education with AI’ was organised by the Shahwilayat Educational Trust (SWT) at their school’s Federal B Area campus on Saturday.

The day-long event was well-attended by school managements, teachers, educationists, government officials and corporate leaders.

It marked a pivotal step in reimagining Pakistan’s education system, ensuring schools are prepared for the opportunities and challenges of the AI era, said a press release.

Speaking at the closing ceremony as the chief guest, President and CEO of the Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud said AI should be a thinking partner for students, not a thinking substitute.

“But building cognitive depth is slow work. Therefore, the use of AI should incrementally improve in teaching students, and must ideally be tailor-made to individual kids’ requirements — to make it more effective and impactful,” he added.

In his keynote address, Prof Farid F. Panjwani, Dean of the Institute for Educational Development at the Aga Khan University, stated that the context of using AI needs to be clearly comprehended especially in this day and age.

“A better world is possible if we take the road less travelled: think of technology as a social practice, recognise that the social context shapes the impact of technology,” he said.

Academic Dr Kamran Ahsan said that children’s cognitive abilities must be augmented. He said that students must ask questions and their curiosity must not be hampered to build the cognitive faculties of students.

Opportunities, he added, can become challenges if they are not addressed in time. He said that AI is a concept of 1950s, but then there was no speed as there is today through the internet.

Journalist Munazza Siddiqui said: While AI is here to stay, we have to find ways to coexist.” But she feared that children might lose their ability to tell stories.

Another speaker, Jawwad Fareed Ahmed, said an instant gratification of a question with an answer by ChatGPT cannot allow a child’s cognitive abilities to build efficiently. “Children should not be given tablets or smartphones before the age of eight to 12,” he said.

A set of recommendations were presented in the closing ceremony.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2026