The Department of Economics, Virtual University of Pakistan, successfully conducted a highly engaging hybrid webinar on “Economic Implications of Generative AI, AI Agents, and Agentic AI”, attracting 150+ in-person and online participants, including students, faculty members, and representatives from the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC).
Ms. Anam moderated the session and opened with a brief introduction to AI and its economic significance.
The keynote talk was delivered by Dr. Muhammad Shakeel, In-charge, Department of Economics, who explained the distinctions between Generative AI, AI Agents, and Agentic AI, linking them to the concepts of data, information, knowledge, and judgment—highlighting how these layers relate to human cognitive abilities and modern AI systems. Dr. Shakeel emphasized the need to extend standard growth, labor, and innovation-based economic models by incorporating AI-driven tangible and intangible outputs. He also stressed the importance of creating new metrics to measure AI-generated value, pricing of AI services, and their contribution to national productivity. He further highlighted Pakistan’s demographic advantage, with 64% of the population under age 30, noting that AI literacy, digital skills, and internet penetration must be strengthened to meet evolving skill-biased labor demand. The session also touched on the crucial topic of taxation on AI productivity, unemployment risks, and the implications of taxing innovation-driven AI outputs.
In the concluding segment, Dr. Shakeel used the Socratic method to encourage interactive learning. Participants actively engaged by answering conceptual questions and raising concerns related to inclusive AI policies, regulatory clarity, data breach risks, and transparent data governance. Participants—both in-person and online—appreciated the Economics Department’s efforts to bring forward contemporary and forward-looking topics, contributing to deeper academic insight and supporting Pakistan’s journey toward technological and economic advancement.