Pakistan becomes founding member of Shanghai-based AI cooperation body

Pakistan has become a founding member of an international organisation set up to promote cooperation in artificial intelligence, according to a report by UrduPoint, which said the body's headquarters will be in Shanghai and its first meeting will be held in December.

The report, filed on Tuesday, did not name the organisation, identify the other founding members, or say when the founding document was signed. It also did not say which Pakistani ministry or official acted for the country, or what financial or technical contribution membership carries.

No statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, or the Prime Minister's Office accompanied the report, and none was available on Tuesday evening.

Skardu Times could not independently confirm Pakistan's membership, the location of the headquarters, or the December meeting date.

The report did not set out what the organisation's remit will cover, whether it will deal with safety standards, research collaboration or the sharing of computing capacity. Nor did it indicate whether Pakistan will sit on a governing council or hold any office in the body.

It also gave no indication of how large the organisation's membership is, or whether any other South Asian state has joined.

Official confirmation, if it comes, would normally be issued through the Foreign Office or the IT ministry. Until then, the only account of the membership is the UrduPoint report, and the details it leaves out are the ones that would show what the membership obliges Pakistan to do.

More is expected to become clear at the first meeting in December, if that schedule holds.