Former finance minister Asad Umar urged young people on Tuesday to treat uncertainty as something they can learn to handle rather than something to fear. In an Asad Umar speech to students at the third edition of MediaVerse, held at the University of Karachi, he said that learning to cope with chaos could open doors instead of blocking the path to success.
Umar spoke during a panel titled Balance in Chaos: A Conversation on Navigating Uncertainty. He shared the stage with television director Saife Hasan, British-Pakistani actor Alyy Khan and content creator Osamah Nasir. The discussion was moderated by Rabia Mughni, founder of Fuchsia Magazine.
The panel was part of MediaVerse 26, organised by the Department of Mass Communication under the theme Control in Chaos. It was held at the Professor Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium of the university's International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences.
Riding the wave, and using AI
Umar compared unexpected events to a large wave. A person, he said, can either learn to ride it and gain from the experience, or be pulled under. He asked students to focus less on controlling circumstances they cannot predict and more on learning how to function within them.
On artificial intelligence (AI), Umar said not everybody needs to become an expert in designing AI programmes, but everybody should be able to use it to their advantage. Saife Hasan agreed that AI was already part of production work in the entertainment industry. He referred to a shot in his recent drama Aapki Izzat that used AI, and said the technology could make production more efficient rather than replace the people working in it.
Osamah Nasir offered a note of caution. He said he had become dependent on AI even for small tasks, and asked students whether they were still using their own brains to their full potential. He said efficiency should not come at the cost of learning, creativity or critical thinking.
Goals, setbacks and avoiding excuses
Umar encouraged students to look beyond financial success and conventional measures of achievement. He told them to reflect on what they truly wanted from life, saying that knowing their own ambitions and values was essential to recognising meaningful opportunities.
Hasan said faith and hard work must go together, with prayer accompanying effort rather than replacing it. Nasir described how setbacks had helped him see the effect of his work on other people's lives, and stressed staying in the present instead of being consumed by the past or future. Alyy Khan urged young people not to treat difficult circumstances as an excuse for inaction, noting that today's youth may find it easier to make excuses.
In a separate session, Verse Talks, digital content creator Junaid Akram, known as Ganjiswag, spoke about how hard experiences can gain meaning over time. He recalled a slogan he had seen as a child on a school carriage and said the chaos people feel today may later become the reason for their peace. Students from Deaf Reach also presented Pakistan's national anthem in sign language at the event.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ke former finance minister Asad Umar ne Karachi University mein MediaVerse 26 ke dauran students ko kaha ke be-yaqeeni aur tabdeeli se ghabrane ke bajaye usay seekhen. Unhon ne AI ko khatre ke bajaye mauqa samajhne aur ise achhe tareeqe se istemal karne par zor diya. Iska matlab hai ke students ko naye hunar seekhne chahiye aur apni soch aur mehnat ko kabhi nazar-andaz nahi karna chahiye. Yeh baatein un sab ke liye aham hain jo aaj ke mushkil halaat mein rasta dhoond rahe hain.
