Recent launch of DeepSeek AI model has brought to light the large and growing AI talent in China. The researchers working for the Chinese startup have shown that human creativity and problem-solving skills can overcome limitations such as access to high-performance hardware. It confirms that the most important resource needed for breakthroughs in AI is the human resource.
The people of Chinese PRC origin account for 47% of the top 20% AI talent in the world based on undergraduate degree, according to a survey. Americans make up 18%, Europeans 12% and Indians 5% of the global AI researchers. In terms of the countries they serve, 57% of them work in the United States, 12% in China, 8% in the UK, 4% each in France and Germany and 3% in Canada as of 2022. While the US still has the lion's share of the top talent, its share has declined from 65% in 2019 to 57% in 2022. Marco Polo talent tracker lists Pakistan among a dozen countries for top AI talent in Asia.
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| Top Global AI Talent. Marco Polo AI Talent Tracker |
More than half (15 out 25) of the institutions (companies and universities) where the top AI researchers work are located in the United States, while 6 are in China. The remaining four are in the UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada, according to Marco Polo Global AI Talent Tracker.
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| Top AI Talent in Asia Pacific. Source: Marco Polo |
The Chinese from PRC dominate the Asia Pacific region with 81.9% of the top AI talent. Indians account for 8.2%, South Korea 4% and "others" 5.8%. "Others” include Taiwan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka.
The fact that a number of large language models, including Chinese DeepSeek and Meta's Llama 3, are open source will help develop more global AI talent and spur greater innovation around the world. In the end, it is much more likely that the open source offerings will see greater success than the closed source models like OpenAI's.
Related Links:
Pakistani Military Launches Defense AI Program
Algorithm: Origins of Artificial Intelligence in Islamic Age
Digital Pakistan 2022: Broadband Penetration Soars to 90% of 15+ Population
STEM Enrollment in Pakistan Exceeds One Million
Digital Public Infrastructure in Pakistan
Generative AI Buzz in Pakistan
Is Pakistan Ready for the AI Revolution?
Growing Presence of Pakistani Women in Science and Technology
Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel
If the Chinese are really so smart then Why are they sending all their students to study at U.S Universities ???
ReplyDelete30% of the Total University Students in the USA Today are from Mainland China ……WHY ?
If We here in the USA were not as smart as the Chinese then we would be sending Our Students to China ……..
Has anyone been allowed to verify the DeepSeek
Hardware to confirm that they are really using H100 stripped down AI chips from Nvidia …… The CCP does not allow anyone to do that …… WHY ?
Food for thought ?
Marco Polo, the talent tracker, was unable to identify any significant percentage of Pakistani talent among the top AI talent in the world, despite our population being around 250 million. Even after 77 years of independence, we have not achieved any notable accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteSir Muzaffar
DeleteSalam
Yes to certain extent I agree that Pakistan has not been able to achieve what neighbouring country like India achieved within last 70 years after independence but pls note that their were many factors which played a role in keeping Pakistan behind and unfortunately the incompetent and corrupt politicians of Pakistan including the corrupt beaucrats have played a major role in making Pakistan a stagnant country.
Why do you think majority of the highly educated skilled and qualified people from Pakistan are migrating to other countries?
The graduates from universities of Pakistan are preferring to live and work in foreign countries.
I am in favor of such brain drain from Pakistan to great extent but not completely.
The question arises that has the politicians of Pakistan who come into power after taking over the government have ever tried to educate people of Pakistan about democracy?
Do politicians in Pakistan even know what is democracy?
Do these politicians ever had vision for this country?
MK: "Even after 77 years of independence, we have not achieved any notable accomplishments"
ReplyDeleteRather than complain about it, I think we should try to fix it.
It’s important for each of us to do our part to help young Pakistanis achieve their potential in STEM and AI. Some of us in Silicon Valley are doing just that. Pakistani American entrepreneur Ashar Aziz’s foundation is sponsoring AI boot camps at NUST. Stanford educated AI expert Dr Shoaib Lari and tech executive Jalil Shaikh are helping establish AI programs at Pakistani universities and placing their top grads in US. Dr Zafar Shahid of icodeguru is organizing webinars on AI for Pakistani students. He’s also funding scholarships for Pakistani students to study in the US. There’s a fundraiser planned for this month in Silicon Valley to boost these programs.
https://www.riazhaq.com/2024/10/is-pakistan-getting-ready-for-ai.html
https://icode.guru/
I just read your detailed blog, and it has truly opened my eyes. I was unaware until today that Pakistan is also making significant progress in raising awareness within its technical institutes and universities. Even though we may not have as many resources as our adversaries' institutions, our compatriots are beginning to take full advantage of the available resources and applying them to their projects. As you highlighted in your blog, the data about Pakistan and other countries is impressive.
ReplyDeleteSir Muzaffar
DeleteYour most welcome to make comments, but as far as I know Pakistanis have more talent, skills and potentials than Indians as far as I know but without support from higher educational institutions, government support and lack of support from foreign governments , the growth and progress of Pakistan in IT, engineering and emerging technology with remain stagnant.
Sir Muzaffar
DeleteThe best kidney specialist in America was a Pakistani and Hollywood actors use to take appointment from him.
The best mechanical engineer in America as far as I have heard was a Pakistani .
The richest South Asian in America is actually a Pakistani by the name Salad Sarah who is very influential and one of the top businessmen or tycoons in America.
Ashraf Ullah Khan Sarah a graduate from NED university of Karachi went to America to continue his higher education and after completing his masters from one of the university in America, he collaborated with an American fellow and started a company named " COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES". He is one of the co founder of this company. It's a high tech engineering company in America where software developers and software engineers design and develope softwares that provide solutions to architects who design and construct buildings.
This engineering company of Mr. Ashraf actually provides engineering solutions of earth quake proof buildings in Americ. And this engineering company exports it's softwarea to at least 100 countries.
Shahbaz Rana
ReplyDelete@81ShahbazRana
Islamabad's government primary schools are witnessing tech evolution, with primary school students showcasing exceptional talent in Artificial Intelligence and coding.
https://x.com/81ShahbazRana/status/1886469988279849041
I have little idea about AI and LLMs, but I wonder if the large number of spoken languages and dialects in India makes it a far greater challenge to develop native Indian LLMs here. Perhaps Pakistan can do well enough with Urdu-language LLMs alone, but here in India very few people outside the northern states speak or understand Hindi language, and as a result other linguistic communities exist inside worlds of their own which would make it necessary to develop more number or more complex native-language LLMs here.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I think China's spate of success in AI should serve as a "Sputnik moment" for India even more than US. It has become increasingly apparent over the years how China has been overcoming its obstacles and racing ahead with less talk and hype and more real work behind the scenes, while India has been doing precisely the opposite. Perhaps this is due to cultural differences, difference in political systems, or most likely both. There has been a general conservatism among Indians about their worldview and resistance to change which has been hindering development - perhaps a general character trait that is shared across the subcontinent. It should serve as a wakeup call to the Indian leadership that their delusions about supposed past glory and cultural superiority mean nothing in the modern world, and that a next door neighbour of equal population and an equal (or more) civilizational heritage to boast of, and whose economic condition was little better than India's not too long ago, has raced ahead to modernity and technological excellence while the self-proclaimed "Vishwa-guru" (World teacher) has languished at the bottom.
Vineeth, LLM is already the "state of the art" in AI. That ship has sailed for Europe and India because things have already been developed (with major breakthrough coming in 2017 with Transformer architecture by Deepmind owned by Google). China's Deepsake is mostly built on NVIDIA chips and concepts built by OpenAI, even though Pakistani's by virtue of their China love are not going to admit it.
DeleteI tell you the following just because you do not seem to be a typical Hindu troll and maybe understand or even gain from reading this - India's future lies probably not in cutting edge AI research..if you even attempt to do that by empowering IIT or IISc (which are way behind than Chinese universities in research), India will still fail to address the basic backwardness in education and other areas (and best IITians will go straight to Stanford or MIT and you can brag about that, but thats it).
Where India could profit most from AI is in applied AI whereby if governments and NGOs are serious, they could utilize AI to improve other areas of life..from education to civil services. But I doubt that'd happen..just look at how whatsapp is being used in India..instead of ending up as a platform that could have been used positively, it ended up gaining infamy as "whatsapp universities" where hatred and superstitions got amplified. I wouldn't be surprised if AI technologies follow a similar trajectory.
Vineeth,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote “…a "Sputnik moment" for India even more than US. “
Hate to bust your bubble but the universe doesn’t revolve around India, nor does the world care about India.
Before “Sputnik moment” India needs “eye opener” moments. The country is 111th on hunger index and 144th on happiness, not a day passes when a low caste is not killed or mutilated, suicide rate increased by about 25% in last few years. You should take care of these first.
G. Ali
G Ali,
Delete- "Hate to bust your bubble but the universe doesn’t revolve around India, nor does the world care about India.. Before 'Sputnik moment' India needs 'eye opener' moments."
You do understand the meaning of the idiom 'Sputnik moment', don't you? It IS pretty much what you would call an 'eye opener moment' or 'wake up call'.
'The moment when a country or a society realizes that it needs to catch up with apparent technological and scientific developments made by some other country or countries by increasing its investment into education, innovative research and development, etc.'
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sputnik_moment
I clearly meant that India and its industry (especially IT and electronics) should treat this as a wake up call since China is a next-door neighbour that was pretty much at India's level of economic development in the 1970s and has raced ahead since then. What I said is solely a comparison between Indian industry and its Chinese counterpart, and how Indians should regard China's rise as a economic and technological superpower.
Did I say anything about India being the centre of the world or the world revolving around India here?
- "The country is 111th on hunger index and 144th on happiness, not a day passes when a low caste is not killed or mutilated, suicide rate increased by about 25% in last few years. You should take care of these first."
Are you trying to say Pakistan is a paradise where milk and honey flows, and its economy is doing so well that people aren't risking their lives on dangerous boat trips to Europe in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic?
Lets face it, sir. Indians and Pakistanis are blood brothers divided by religion, and we face many of the same issues and have similar faults and failings. What you say here about India pretty much applies to Pakistan as well, only that India's problems may look magnified by its 6 times larger population. India's track record on economic and social development is certainly inferior to China's, but not to Pakistan's.
Dear Mr. Vineeth
DeleteThanks for your replies, to certain extent I think you are right but pls note that we came across quiet a few Indians who are sensible, neutral and good like you. Unfortunately on the newspages of Pakistan on Facebook and on YouTube channels of Pakistan, most of the Indians who make comments, if you read those comments you will be surprised to see the kind of language they use against Pakistan and Pakistanis .
I am sure that most of these Indian trolls who visit newspages of Pakistan on Facebook and on YouTube channels of Pakistan are basically blind and emotional supporters of BJP government.
Thanks
Mr. Vineeth
DeleteIndia as a country has its own importance and value in the worlsld, no Pakistani as far as I have seen or know denies this.
And pls note that it is not actually what Pakistanis think and feel about Indians which is a problem but in fact it is versa versa. The problem is what majority of the Indians feel and think about Pakistan is the main problem.
It is the attitude and the pre-concieved negative notions in the minds and hearts of majority of the Indians which is the main obstacle in the improvement of the relations between both countries and people of both countries.
Hello Mr. Vineeth
DeleteYes to some extent it is true but pls note that not all people in Pakistan share blood with Indians.
Pls note that according to historical sources, this part of sub continent which is now called " PAKISTAN" was actually invaded by various rulers and invaders who either came from central Asian countries and Arab countries.
Their is a place in the northern areas of Pakistan called " KALAM" and if you visit that place then you will be surprised to see that their is a group of people their wearing strange ancient dresses in black and their looks are different from looks of other Pakistanis.
History has testified that many centuries ago when Alexander the Great came to this place called " KALAM" . He brought some group of people from Greece or Rome and stayed with them here for few months. As soon as he received the message that Greece or Rome has been attacked,,he immediately rushed to western side of Pakistan and tried to cross Iran so that he could reach Rome or Greece to defend his homeland.
The group of people whom he left behind in this region of KALAM wanted to go back with him but Alexander the Great couldn't take them back.
So this group of people from Greece or Rome that was left behind in KALAM region stayed here and their new generations have been living here in KALAM which is now a part of Pakistan for centuries.
ReplyDeleteDear Sir
Pls check this , according to the research or survey of Stanford Universities department of human centered AI, India si ranked at no. 4 in global AI leaders ranking.
https://hai.stanford.edu/news/global-ai-power-rankings-stanford-hai-tool-ranks-36-countries-ai
Sir can you pls tell where does Pakistan stand in this global AI ranking?
UAE ahead of France South Korea Japan and Germany???? Seriously?
DeleteDear Sir
ReplyDeleteI hope you and the team of this blog is doing well.
Sir just recently a summit of AI was held in Paris city of France which was also attended by PM Modi of India.
In this summit, the european countries and their governments have talked about regulating the AI and it's growth in the future.
According to many if not all Asian and European countries , if artificial intelligence is allowed to grow at this fast pace, then in the future it will replace all the humans working in various fields and sectors, causing huge losses to people specially to their jobs.
American government under President Trump has actually refused to sign this agreement with EU(European Union) on regulating the AI and it's growth or extension.
According to administration of President Trump, if at this initial stage we apply regulations on AI then it will put restrictions on the growth of AI hampering it's advancement.
Sir can you pls make a blog about it?
Thanks
China’s Quantum Leap: The 504-Qubit ‘Xiaohong’ Chip Changes Everything – Engineerine
ReplyDeletehttps://engineerine.com/china-504-qubit-xiaohong-chip/
China has just shattered records in quantum computing with the launch of Tianyan-504, a superconducting quantum computer powered by the Xiaohong chip. With an unprecedented 504 qubits, this marks a major milestone in the global quantum race, putting China in direct competition with tech giants like IBM and Google.
Quantum computing is one of the most revolutionary advancements in technology, with the potential to solve complex problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. From AI to cryptography, medical research, and national security, this breakthrough is a game-changer.
How does Tianyan-504 compare to global competitors, and what does it mean for the future of computing? Let’s break it down.
The Tianyan-504 is China’s most powerful quantum computer to date, developed using superconducting quantum technology. It is powered by the Xiaohong chip, an advanced 504-qubit processor, making it one of the most powerful quantum machines in the world.
Key Features of Tianyan-504:
Record-Breaking 504 Qubits – China’s highest-qubit quantum processor to date.
Superconducting Quantum Technology – Uses extremely cold temperatures to minimize errors and improve qubit stability.
Cloud-Accessible – Available for remote use in 50+ countries via China Telecom.
Rivaling IBM and Google – Competing directly with IBM’s Eagle (433 qubits) and Google’s Sycamore (72 qubits).
With this cutting-edge technology, China has positioned itself as a dominant force in the global quantum race.
Unlike traditional computers that use binary bits (0s and 1s), quantum computers use qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to superposition and entanglement. This allows quantum computers to perform massively parallel calculations, solving problems that classical computers would take thousands of years to process.
How the Xiaohong Chip Works:
Qubits Operate in Superposition – This allows them to perform multiple calculations at once.
Quantum Entanglement – Qubits communicate instantaneously, boosting computing efficiency.
Error Correction Mechanisms – Advanced superconducting circuits reduce quantum errors, making calculations more accurate.
Why Is This a Big Deal?
Key Implications of Tianyan-504:
AI and Machine Learning – Quantum computing could train AI models thousands of times faster, accelerating breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.
Cybersecurity and Cryptography – Quantum computers have the power to break traditional encryption, making current security protocols obsolete.
Drug Discovery and Healthcare – Quantum simulations could develop new medicines and treatments at an unprecedented pace.
Climate and Energy Solutions – Quantum algorithms can optimize energy grids, simulate climate models, and enhance battery technology.
National Security and Defense – Quantum advancements could give China an edge in intelligence, surveillance, and secure communications.
By leading in quantum computing, China is gaining a strategic advantage across multiple industries.
China’s Quantum Leap: The 504-Qubit ‘Xiaohong’ Chip Changes Everything – Engineerine
ReplyDeletehttps://engineerine.com/china-504-qubit-xiaohong-chip/
China has just shattered records in quantum computing with the launch of Tianyan-504, a superconducting quantum computer powered by the Xiaohong chip. With an unprecedented 504 qubits, this marks a major milestone in the global quantum race, putting China in direct competition with tech giants like IBM and Google.
Quantum computing is one of the most revolutionary advancements in technology, with the potential to solve complex problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. From AI to cryptography, medical research, and national security, this breakthrough is a game-changer.
How does Tianyan-504 compare to global competitors, and what does it mean for the future of computing? Let’s break it down.
The Tianyan-504 is China’s most powerful quantum computer to date, developed using superconducting quantum technology. It is powered by the Xiaohong chip, an advanced 504-qubit processor, making it one of the most powerful quantum machines in the world.
Key Features of Tianyan-504:
Record-Breaking 504 Qubits – China’s highest-qubit quantum processor to date.
Superconducting Quantum Technology – Uses extremely cold temperatures to minimize errors and improve qubit stability.
Cloud-Accessible – Available for remote use in 50+ countries via China Telecom.
Rivaling IBM and Google – Competing directly with IBM’s Eagle (433 qubits) and Google’s Sycamore (72 qubits).
With this cutting-edge technology, China has positioned itself as a dominant force in the global quantum race.
Unlike traditional computers that use binary bits (0s and 1s), quantum computers use qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to superposition and entanglement. This allows quantum computers to perform massively parallel calculations, solving problems that classical computers would take thousands of years to process.
How the Xiaohong Chip Works:
Qubits Operate in Superposition – This allows them to perform multiple calculations at once.
Quantum Entanglement – Qubits communicate instantaneously, boosting computing efficiency.
Error Correction Mechanisms – Advanced superconducting circuits reduce quantum errors, making calculations more accurate.
Why Is This a Big Deal?
Key Implications of Tianyan-504:
AI and Machine Learning – Quantum computing could train AI models thousands of times faster, accelerating breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.
Cybersecurity and Cryptography – Quantum computers have the power to break traditional encryption, making current security protocols obsolete.
Drug Discovery and Healthcare – Quantum simulations could develop new medicines and treatments at an unprecedented pace.
Climate and Energy Solutions – Quantum algorithms can optimize energy grids, simulate climate models, and enhance battery technology.
National Security and Defense – Quantum advancements could give China an edge in intelligence, surveillance, and secure communications.
By leading in quantum computing, China is gaining a strategic advantage across multiple industries.
Top China chipmaker SMIC says tariff war sparking 'rush orders'
ReplyDeletehttps://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/Top-China-chipmaker-SMIC-says-tariff-war-sparking-rush-orders
TAIPEI -- China's top chipmaker says clients are stockpiling inventory and asking to move up delivery of orders scheduled for later in the year due to concerns over U.S. tariffs and broader geopolitical tensions.
Zhao Haijun, co-CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., told investors and reporters on Wednesday that his company has seen a rush in orders in the first two quarters of 2025.
"We see many [customers] want to ship the products to their export destinations as soon as possible, so they are building up inventories for the second half or even the full year. ... They are hoping to prepare as many parts for their products in advance as soon as possible," Zhao said. "Currently the ocean shipping is very crowded to fulfill all these rush orders as well. ... But we don't know how long this could last, given the dynamics of global uncertainties."
U.S. President Donald Trump has started a broad tariff war against China and other nations, including imposing an additional 10% blanket tariff on Chinese imports.
Zhao said a rapid acceleration of local chip production has raised SMIC's revenue to a record level, but warned of a price war and tariff uncertainties in the second half of 2025.
Efforts to boost local production in critical areas, including automotive applications, are bearing fruit, with some chip products now being produced in large volumes.
China has instructed domestic carmakers, including BYD, to use up to 25% locally made automotive chips to boost local self-sufficiency, Nikkei Asia reported earlier.
The industry reoriented toward the domestic supply chain at "a relatively rapid pace," Zhao said. "Our Chinese customers' market share expanded, and revenue from these customers grew 34%, year over year."
Beijing's economic stimulus measures have also encouraged clients to restock chips used in products like smartphones, notebooks, electric vehicles and bicycles, he said. "Our 8-inch wafer capacity is running at full utilization, beating the traditional seasonality for the first quarter."
"However, we are worried that the rush orders for the first half of this year would result in soft demand in the second half, when many peers will have new capacity go online at the same time," Zhao said. "That means there might be intensified price competition to fight for orders later in the year. ... The trend for the price is unclear for the second half, but it will not go up."
SMIC estimates its 2025 annual revenue will grow 6% to 8%, higher than the industry average in the same markets.
It plans capital investment in 2025 on a similar level as last year's $7.3 billion, much higher than its foreign contract chipmaking peers, such as United Microelectronics Corp.
SMIC's revenue for the last quarter of 2024 rose 31.5% to $2.2 billion, with operating profit nearly doubling from a year earlier. However, its net profit declined 38.4% to $108 million compared with the same period the previous year. The chipmaker attributed this to higher expenses from the startup of new plants.
Its full-year revenue for 2024 was $8.03 billion, up 27% from 2023, with net profit down 45%.
American rival Globalfoundries reported a net loss on Wednesday for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Its full-year revenue came to $6.75 billion, with a net loss of $262 million.
Nearly 90% of SMIC's revenue from the last quarter of 2024 came from China. The figure for the full year was 85%.
China’s Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough
ReplyDeleteIn January 2025, China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) nuclear fusion reactor set a new world record by sustaining a plasma at 100 million° C for 1,066 seconds. This breakthrough is a major step toward the goal of generating clean, limitless energy.
Explanation What is EAST.
EAST is also known as China's "artificial sun". It's a tokamak reactor that uses extreme heat and pressure to create nuclear fusion. What's the significance of this breakthrough.
This breakthrough is a major step toward practical fusion reactors that could power cities without pollution or radioactive waste.
What are the benefits of fusion energy?
Fusion energy has a zero emission footprint and produces far greater amounts of energy than any other source.
Other details
China invests nearly double the U.S. in fusion research.
China has ambitious plans for fusion power plants to provide clean, limitless energy.
The Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) is under construction in Hefei, China and is scheduled for completion in 2025.
You can also watch this video to learn more about China's nuclear fusion breakthrough:
https://youtu.be/g-PLekYOv20
New Forms Of Higher Education For Building Pakistan’s Future
ReplyDeleteByBryan Penprase, Contributor. Bryan Penprase covers global innovations in
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpenprase/2025/02/18/new-forms-of-higher-education-for-building-pakistans-future/
Pakistan’s future economy will be built through higher education. Pakistan’s economy has been traditionally rooted in agriculture and textiles but is expanding its presence in construction, renewable energy, and IT and its higher education system can provide more opportunities for a young and growing population. The nation’s future economy will be based on technology growth and in manufacturing, mining, and renewable energy. Already, Pakistan has produced many startup companies, such as NayaPay, a fintech payment processing platform founded in 2016, and DealCart, an online grocery store founded in 2022. Both were listed in the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list in 2024, and new investments from China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the US promise to further develop Pakistan’s tech sector.
Pakistan’s meteoric population growth provides unique challenges. In just the past twenty years, its population has grown from 141 million to over 250 million, making Pakistan the fifth most populous country in the world. The median age is estimated at 19 years in 2023, and two thirds of its population is under 30, giving the country the third largest college-age population in the world, surpassed only by China and India. Keeping the most talented, young population within the country is vital for developing its future, yet in 2022 alone, over 760,000 Pakistanis emigrated, including 92,000 highly educated doctors, engineers and other tech professionals.
Pakistan’s Future Depends on Higher Education
To develop and retain its most talented young people, Pakistan urgently needs to expand and upgrade its higher education system. Higher education in Pakistan began with the University of the Punjab, founded in Lahore in 1882 under British Colonial rule. Another early institution, Lahore Mission College, was founded in 1864 and renamed Forman Christian College (FCC) in 1894. Additional public universities were developed after 1947, notably the prestigious Quaid-i-Azam University, founded in 1967 to offer postgraduate programs, and the Allam Igbal Open University, Pakistan’s largest university with over 1 million students, founded in 1974.
By the early 1980’s Pakistan allowed new private universities, enabling the founding of Aga Khan University (AKU) in 1983, with a focus on health sciences, and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 1985. Prominent public universities were also formed recently, such as the top-ranked National University of Science and Technology (NUST), formed in 1991. By 2024, Pakistan had over 240 colleges and universities, enrolling over 3 million students, representing only 11 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population. While Pakistan’s system lacks capacity to fully serve its large population, many innovative universities including AKU, LUMS, FCC, as well as Habib University are retaining some of Pakistan’s best students to shape Pakistan’s future.
Aga Khan University (AKU) and Medical Education
AKU began as Pakistan’s first private university and hosts the country’s the top-ranked Medical College. With branch campuses opened in 2000 in East Africa, Afghanistan and the UK, AKU has since expanded across Africa to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Despite being small and selective, with under 2000 students, AKU provides affordable health care to over 2 million patients in six countries. The institution is committed to empowering women, who comprise nearly half of its faculty and 60% of its students. AKU also has major programs in teacher education and educational leadership, with Institutes for Educational Development based in Pakistan and East Africa.
Other major universities: LUMS, FCC, Habib,
2024 Research Leaders: Leading academic institutions | Nature Index
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nature.com/nature-index/research-leaders/2024/institution/academic/all/global
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2PGR4Yo/
Position Institution Share 2022 Share 2023 Count 2023 Change in Adjusted Share* 2022–2023
1 Harvard University, United States of America (USA) 1169.58 1143.43 3763 -3.1%
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China 598.85 635.81 3227 5.2%
3 University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China 586.57 631.20 1858 6.7%
4 Peking University (PKU), China 562.29 617.17 2349 8.8%
5 Nanjing University (NJU), China 565.57 609.45 1448 6.8%
6 Zhejiang University (ZJU), China 479.35 595.37 1540 23.1%
7 Tsinghua University, China 529.08 593.45 1946 11.2%
8 Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), China 437.07 492.47 1266 11.7%
9 Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China 439.68 488.94 1449 10.2%
10 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States of America (USA) 479.97 484.86 2032 0.1%
11 Stanford University, United States of America (USA) 592.62 474.13 1929 -20.7%
12 Fudan University, China 429.84 461.26 1333 6.4%
13 Sichuan University (SCU), China 327.62 413.63 768 25.2%
14 The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Japan 398.90 389.36 1239 -3.2%
15 University of Oxford, United Kingdom (UK) 423.50 388.35 1625 -9.1%
16 University of Michigan (U-M), United States of America (USA) 372.55 380.50 1415 1.2%
17 University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK) 428.91 368.12 1436 -14.9%
18 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Switzerland 353.52 346.26 1042 -2.9%
19 Yale University, United States of America (USA) 380.20 342.16 1402 -10.8%
20 Nankai University (NKU), China 316.97 337.67 797 5.6%
21 Wuhan University (WHU), China 276.30 334.72 768 20.1%
22 University of Toronto (U of T), Canada 366.05 334.38 1192 -9.4%
23 University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), United States of America (USA) 335.22 331.74 1062 -1.9%
24 Columbia University in the City of New York (CU), United States of America (USA) 342.91 330.31 1232 -4.5%
25 University of Pennsylvania (Penn), United States of America (USA) 374.65 323.65 1118 -14.4%
26 Cornell University, United States of America (USA) 302.76 320.47 1070 4.9%
27 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States of America (USA) 341.25 313.78 1214 -8.8%
28 Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China 248.29 312.65 725 24.8%
29 University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), United States of America (USA) 350.71 312.19 1358 -11.8%
30 Shandong University (SDU), China 263.71 309.49 951 16.3%
31 University of Washington (UW), United States of America (USA) 305.50 295.93 1452 -4.0%
32 Northwestern University (NU), United States of America (USA) 313.12 295.49 904 -6.4%
33 Johns Hopkins University (JHU), United States of America (USA) 351.93 294.65 1358 -17.0%
34 Xiamen University (XMU), China 262.58 289.61 569 9.3%
35 Soochow University, China 246.72 289.15 614 16.2%
36 Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China 295.49 279.54 770 -6.2%
37 Jilin University (JLU), China 247.88 268.37 601 7.3%
38 National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore 250.00 253.94 904 0.7%
39 Central South University (CSU), China 189.42 252.70 582 32.2%
40 Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), United States of America (USA) 261.57 251.01 804 -4.9%
China leads the world in physics research as US a distant rival, Nature Index shows | South China Morning Post
ReplyDeletehttps://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3297914/china-leads-world-physics-research-us-distant-rival-nature-index-shows
The world’s top organisations for high-quality physics research are all in China or Europe, with the US’ highest-ranked institution coming in at No 13, according to the latest Nature Index.A China-based observer said this could have far-reaching implications for the United States’ technological edge, with physics underpinning much of modern technology and innovation. But another highlighted America’s overall lead in original research breakthroughs.The Nature Index – maintained by the prestigious journal of the same name – ranks research institutions based on their contributions to articles published in the world’s most influential scientific journals.The latest list was based on research output in the 12 months from November 2023.
China dominated the top 10, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Tsinghua University taking the top three spots.Only two non-Chinese institutions broke into the top 10 – the Max Planck Society in Germany at No 4 and the French National Centre for Scientific Research at No 10.
The top three US institutions – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Stanford University – were ranked at 13th, 16th and 20th, respectively.
In the 2021 index, by contrast, the three American institutions were in the top 10, while only two from China – CAS and USTC – made it into the group.
The Nature Index measures two different scores – count and share. An institution receives one point for each article with at least one affiliated author, and these points add up to the institution’s count score.For the share score, each article is assigned a value of one, which is divided equally among all authors. For example, for an article with 10 authors, each receives a share value of 0.1. Each institution’s share score is calculated by adding the share values of the authors from that institution.
In the latest list, CAS leads by a wide margin in both metrics, while the Max Planck Society is the only non-Chinese research organisation in the top five.However, a CAS physicist warned that while the index was an informative measure of the strength of research institutions, it did have its limitations and the rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt.“The increasing number of high-quality scientific papers published by Chinese researchers in top journals in recent years reflects to some extent that China’s overall strength in physics research is on the rise,” said Chen Xiaolong, a physicist at the Institute of Physics under CAS.
But this metric was not everything, he said. “China still lags behind the United States overall in terms of original and truly groundbreaking research breakthroughs, except for a few branches,” Chen said.Analytical instrumentation engineer Jin Xianchi, who holds a doctorate in physics from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), was of the same view. He said many factors were behind the rankings.“Chinese and European labs tend to have larger teams, so it is easier to produce more influential papers,” Jin said. On the other hand, some notably pioneering research may not be accepted by academic journals at first, which could put an innovative organisation at a disadvantage.
China leads the world in physics research as US a distant rival, Nature Index shows | South China Morning Post
ReplyDeletehttps://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3297914/china-leads-world-physics-research-us-distant-rival-nature-index-shows
“The increasing number of high-quality scientific papers published by Chinese researchers in top journals in recent years reflects to some extent that China’s overall strength in physics research is on the rise,” said Chen Xiaolong, a physicist at the Institute of Physics under CAS.
But this metric was not everything, he said. “China still lags behind the United States overall in terms of original and truly groundbreaking research breakthroughs, except for a few branches,” Chen said.Analytical instrumentation engineer Jin Xianchi, who holds a doctorate in physics from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), was of the same view. He said many factors were behind the rankings.“Chinese and European labs tend to have larger teams, so it is easier to produce more influential papers,” Jin said. On the other hand, some notably pioneering research may not be accepted by academic journals at first, which could put an innovative organisation at a disadvantage.
However, according to Jin, there has actually been a decline in America’s overall leadership in scientific research since World War II – including in physics. He said this had happened for a variety of reasons, including a brain drain.Physics is the foundation on which most modern technological developments and cutting-edge research are based. And throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, the US has been the leading destination for physics research, accounting for nearly 100 Nobel Prizes in the field.“A decline in the level of research over a period of time is bound to have implications for the future,” Jin said.
In 2018, an article in Forbes magazine warned that the US was at risk of “no longer attracting the best and brightest minds in physics”.An American Physical Society survey cited in the article showed that the country had seen an unprecedented drop in the number of international applications to physics PhD programmes over the previous year.Meanwhile, a number of Chinese physicists have chosen to leave the US in recent years.
In January last year, for example, award-winning Chinese-American physicist Gao Huajian joined Tsinghua University as a full-time professor. More recently, computational physicist Chen Hudong – an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering – left America after more than four decades to take up a full-time position in China.An annual Chinese report assessing scientific activities and trends in major countries, released last November, showed that China had regained the world’s top spot in physics research in 2024, after losing it to the United States in 2023.
Nury Vittachi
ReplyDelete@NuryVittachi
There is no race between China and the US to be top player in AI development, says a new report from Nature, the world's top science journal.
The two countries are on different tracks with different endpoints. The US has been leading the pack in making big, headline-grabbing projects like ChatGPT, while China's focus has been, and remains, the production of practical AI programs that help industrialists, farmers, business people and factories.
AI programs in China are being used "to make trains run on time, monitor fish stocks and provide automated telehealth services," says the report by science writer Jacob Dreyer in the latest edition of the scientific publication.
Ultimately, China will do its usual thing, passing the systems that work to other nations, "especially to lower-income countries," the report says.
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DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SUPPORT
In the west, companies need to have innovative ideas that make an impact in the media to attract venture capitalists to invest. In contrast, China has more of an engineering school approach—projects must have practical benefit and be shown to be working to get government investment.
"The divergence in priorities reflects the forces driving innovation in each economy: venture capital in the United States and large-scale manufacturing enterprises and organs of the state in China," Dreyer says.
That doesn't mean that Chinese AI projects are always smaller. One of them is to integrate AI into a system to control the national grid so that the best use can be made of energy.
China is keen to keep its reputation as a leader in making clean energy options affordable around the world. "Its emerging AI playbook mirrors its approach to other technologies, such as electric vehicles and clean energy: not the first to innovate, but the first to make them affordable for widespread use," Dreyer writes.
The huge attention paid to DeepSeek, a relatively cheap but high performance AI chatbot, has hidden the difference in strategies, inspiring journalists to conjure up the colorful but ultimately inaccurate scenario of a US-China AI "arms race".
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STRATEGIC PLAN - FOR FARMERS
The appearance of the Nature report happily coincided with the February 20 publication of a Chinese government "strategic plan" for farmers to use scientific developments, including AI and genetic modification, to boost crop production and help the country move towards food self-sufficiency. You can't get much more practical than that.
Other recent data also bolsters the theory that Chinese AI projects may be lower profile, but have already made more inroads in business and industry.
A recent international study of usage of AI revealed that more respondents from China – 83 per cent – said their companies were using AI, than respondents from the United States – at only 65 per cent. In fact, the data in the SAS Generative AI Global Research Report shows that China was ahead of all other nations in the study in this regard (see pic).
[from fridayeveryday. com]
https://x.com/NuryVittachi/status/1894277527151284232
William Huo
ReplyDelete@wmhuo168
China claims to have built a jet fuel-powered engine for Mach 16 flight—faster than any known aircraft. If true, this rewrites the rules of war, rendering missile defenses obsolete. Game-changer or hype? Let’s break it down.
https://x.com/wmhuo168/status/1895319837569917216
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China’s Mach 16 Engine SpaceRacer6 on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2H5ckPw/
https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=228946
ReplyDeleteChina's semiconductor foundry company SMIC achieved record quarterly performance in the third quarter of this year (July to September).
Despite challenges in producing advanced semiconductors due to U.S. sanctions, the demand for legacy chips used in local home appliances has increased, leading to higher sales.
SMIC announced on Nov. 8 that it recorded $2.17119 billion in sales in the third quarter, a 34% increase compared to the same period last year ($1.62058 billion).
This marks the highest quarterly sales ever, and it is the first time SMIC's sales have surpassed $2 billion. Operating profit was $169.89 million, and net profit was $148.80 million, representing increases of 94.4% and 58.3%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
SMIC's performance continues to improve, supported by the Chinese government's backing for semiconductor self-sufficiency despite the ongoing U.S.-China conflict.
In the third quarter, domestic sales in China amounted to $1.875 billion, accounting for 86.4% of total sales, up from 84% ($1.361 billion) last year. Conversely, sales in the U.S., Asia, and Europe declined.
SMIC is also facing difficulties in acquiring advanced semiconductor equipment. Its capital expenditure in the third quarter was $1.179 billion, a 44.8% decrease from $2.135 billion last year.
However, production based on legacy processes continues to increase. SMIC's factory utilization rate in the third quarter was 90.4%, recovering from 77.1% in the same quarter last year.
SMIC expects its sales in the fourth quarter (October to December) to be similar to or slightly higher than the record high of the previous quarter.
Hua Hong Semiconductor, another leading foundry in China alongside SMIC, also showed significant improvement compared to last year.
The company's third-quarter sales were $526.30 million, a 7.4% decrease compared to the same period last year, but net profit turned positive at $22.91 million, compared to a loss of $25.90 million last year.
The strong performance of Chinese semiconductor companies could provoke further tightening of U.S. semiconductor regulations.
The South China Morning Post reported, "It is a common view that Trump will strengthen control over China's technology sector."
Vance: Globalization was supposed to make the rich nations richer: Post by Arnaud Bertrand on X
ReplyDeleteArnaud Bertrand
@RnaudBertrand
This is actually an extraordinary admission to make for a US Vice President https://x.com/OopsGuess/status/1902396228404674853/video/1
Vance explains that "the idea of globalization was that rich countries would move further up the value chain while the poor countries made the simpler things."
But he laments that it didn't quite work out this way: as he explains it turns out that poor countries (mostly China) didn't want to just remain cheap labor forever and started moving up the value chain themselves. Which is why, according to him, globalization was a failure.
Meaning that the objective of globalization wasn't to reduce global inequalities but very much to maintain them, to institute a system of permanent economic hierarchy where rich countries would maintain their hold over the most profitable sectors while relegating poor countries to perpetual subordination in lower-value production.
This is basically all you need to know to explain 90% of U.S. foreign policy these past few years: colonial thinking is alive and well, and America's shift of strategy in recent years - away from the previous "Washington Consensus" of "free" markets towards a much more overt attempt to contain and restrict China's development - stems precisely from this mindset.
From semiconductor export controls to investment restrictions, these policies aren't about 'national security' in any genuine sense - they're about trying to preserve a global economic order where, simply put, poorer nations know their assigned place and stay there. At the very core, that's the "China threat": a China that stepped out of the economic lane assigned to it by the West.
It's deeply ironic when you think of it: a global game allegedly designed to "spread market principles" worldwide is being abandoned precisely because it worked too well. When China succeeded better than expected, the response wasn't to celebrate the validation of the game's effectiveness but to change its rules. Precisely because the real unspoken game - but now clearly stated by the U.S. Vice President - was to maintain global inequality, not eliminate it.
All in all, in case they hadn't yet gotten the memo, this sends a very clear message to the developing world: economic development will require challenging a U.S.-dominated economic order that views their advancement as a threat rather than a success. Which incidentally is why Vance's words might actually help accelerate the very redistribution of global economic power he laments, pushing more nations to recognize that genuine development requires strategic independence from a system intended to keep them in their place.
https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1902528428643168632
Pakistan Launches Its First Homegrown AI Chatbot Zehanat AI Tailored for Local Needs
ReplyDeletehttps://propakistani.pk/2025/03/22/pakistan-launches-its-first-homegrown-ai-chatbot-tailored-for-local-needs/
Pakistan has achieved a notable milestone in the tech sector with the beta launch of Zahanat AI, the nation’s first locally developed artificial intelligence chatbot. Spearheaded by entrepreneur Mehwish Salman Ali, co-founder and CEO of Data Vault and Zahanat AI, the platform promises to address Pakistan’s unique challenges with culturally sensitive and locally relevant solutions.
Zahanat AI is the culmination of years of development, operating from a dedicated data center in Karachi since 2022. This means that the AI model’s data stays in Pakistan for processing and doesn’t go anywhere else. This data center is connected with high-speed internet and has robust DDoS protection.
The system utilizes a mixed GPU architecture, leveraging both Nvidia GPUs and chips, initially incorporating used gaming GPUs to build its computational power. It was a relatively low-cost development project. The owners said that DeepSeek cost $5 million to make, but Zahanat AI cost less, without specifying exactly how much.
Mehwish Salman Ali said:
Our goal was to create an AI that understands and responds to the specific needs of Pakistan. Zahanat AI is trained on a massive dataset of 2 billion parameters, all processed and stored within Pakistan, ensuring cultural awareness and relevance.
A key distinguishing feature of Zahanat AI is its focus on ethical and responsible AI development. The platform is specifically trained to censor sensitive topics and avoid discussions about particular individuals.
The beta launch of Zahanat AI is currently on an invitational basis, requiring interested users to submit their email and personal details, including their profession, work email, and social media accounts. This selective access aims to gather valuable feedback and refine the platform before a wider public release.
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Baidu’s New AI Model “Rivals Deepseek At Half the Price”
Ali further explained:
By training Zahanat AI on Pakistan’s data, we are building a tool that can provide Pakistan-focused solutions to the diverse problems faced by our communities. We believe this technology has the potential to transform various sectors, from education and healthcare to business and governance.
For now, the beta launch has introduced Zahanat AI’s initial Z1 model, with plans to improve and expand further in the future with Z2 and so on. The Z2 model will introduce multilingual support for all languages in Pakistan and will get voice input as well.