Adab Festival | Pakistan

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape daily life, speakers at Karachi’s Adab Festival gathered at Habitt City on Sunday to discuss how the technology has evolved, what it offers, as well as the blind spots and ethical risks it now poses for the future. The session, titled Designing Tomorrow with Artificial Intelligence, featured Dr Salman Khatani and Sadaf Bhatti, with Ahsan Siddiqui moderating. Entrepreneur Jehan Ara was scheduled to attend but was unable to do so. Siddiqui began by noting how quickly technological trends shift, recalling earlier waves, from AutoCAD to digital marketing and e-commerce, before today’s AI boom. He pointed out that while people eagerly use tools like ChatGPT or Gemini for tasks such as grammar fixes or image edits, far fewer understand how such systems can be used to create new tools themselves.  “Change is the only constant,” he said, while raising a broader question about the technology’s origins. Bhatti traced AI’s emergence to 1956 and the study of neurons; histor...

The Adab Festival saw a gathering of big names from art, literature, media and politics for a series of talks, music performances and mushairas. The festival, now in its tenth edition, was held at Habbitt City in Karachi from November 22-23. A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui Visitors attend an event at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A visitor looks at fabric being sold at the Adab Festival on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui Ex-FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi delivers a talk at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui An audience attends a panel discussion with Khurram Karaishy at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddi...

If ‘post-truth’ was Oxford Dictionaries’ 2016 Word of the Year, then ‘post-reality’ reflects the even murkier information climate unfolding today, one where audiences and journalists alike struggle to navigate competing narratives and contested facts. This shifting landscape framed the session ‘Truth, Trust, and Tenacity: The New Media Paradigm,’ held on Saturday, which brought together journalists Fazil Jamili, Azhar Abbas, Amber Rahim Shamsi and Azaz Syed under the moderation of Nadia Naqi. The discussion was part of the Adab Festival, which returned to Karachi for its 10th edition at Habitt City from November 22 to 23. Opening the discussion, Naqi noted the challenges journalists face in working and surviving in the current media environment. “Speaking the truth comes with challenges; often we’ve seen journalists being intimidated, and the controlled environment makes it difficult to speak the truth,” she said. “With truth, of course, comes trust. Is there public trust in the media? That’s the big question...