KARACHI: Professor Atta-ur-Rehman - the most decorated scientist of Pakistan - Thursday stressed the need for knowledge-driven economy, saying the natural resources have diminishing importance in today’s world of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In his presentation titled: “The exciting world of discovery,” Dr Atta said
the world has changed now. Only the knowledge-driven economies - China and Singapore - are to flourish.
The programme was organized by the English Speaking Union of Pakistan at a local hotel here.
He said the natural resources have diminishing importance. The highest technology goods have major share in the global exports, followed by medium and low level technology goods, and then come natural resources.
About 60 percent of Pakistan’s exports are of low value added textiles. So we just nowhere in areas like vaccines, pharmaceutical products, engineering goods. Our IT and services exports are $3 billion, while the neighboring India posted over $150 billion exports.
“The projected impact of the worldwide application of Artificial Intelligence especially in the fields of health agriculture and energy will be around $15.6 trillion by 2025. If we are able to capture only 1 percent of the total market, it will translate into $156 billion for us,” Dr Atta said.
AI is being used already in medicine, cancer detection, and imaging technologies. AI is now very much in practical use. “We are also setting up a center in Karachi for the imaging,” he said.
By 2025, there will be a $33 trillion impact of some new and emerging technologies which includes next generation genomics, energy storage system, solid state batteries, electronic vehicles etc.
He gave his exited insights on the latest innovations in the field of science and technology world over. He said the most complex object of the universe is perhaps our human brain which contains some 80 billion neurons. Each Neuron is connected with some 10,000 other neurons.
He said Prof. Jonathan Himmelfarb from University of Washington has developed wearable kidney machines. These machines could free people from dialysis.
Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Arizona State University have identified three tiny RNA switches, known as micro RNAs which many hold the keys to regenerating muscles, cartilages, and spinal columns. These switches are able to turn genes on and off and are associated with the regeneration of tails in the green anole lizard.
He said Stanford Group grew miniature simplified version of the human brain from stem cells inside a lab, then later injected that tissue into the brains of newborn rats. The chimeric mice turned out to be smarter than normal mice.
Sharp Corporation has developed new type of compound solar cells with efficiencies of over 40 percent. This was achieved by replacing the germanium base layer by indium gallium arsenide.
While sharing Stanford University research, he said ‘Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission’ (PETE) can work at high temperature unlike currently available solar cells, and its utilization of light and heat (produced by solar radiation) can increase the efficiency of the new solar cells to above 50 percent.
International Council of English Speaking Union President Aziz Memon and English Speaking Union of Pakistan President Kalim Farooqui also spoke on the occasion. Members of the National Executive Council of ESUP were also present.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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