SURREY, BC — In an in-depth presentation addressing the future of technological development, Dr. Asim Iqbal, Founder and CEO of Tibbtech, described a future where Artificial Intelligence functions more as a "co-pilot" rather than a substitute.
On Saturday, May 2nd, families, professionals, students, and seniors gathered at Jamea Masjid Auliya for a public event examining the history, current uses, and potential impacts of AI—covering its origins, future direction, and significance for those present.
The speaker was Dr. Asim Iqbal, PhD, Founder and CEO of Tibb Tech. Throughout the evening, Dr. Iqbal paced at the front, framing AI within a larger historical context: from 1760 into today’s Industry shaping society over the last 250 years.
The speakers explained that humanity moved from the Steam Age (1.0) in the late 18th century, to the Electrification Age (2.0) in the late 19th century, and into the Digital Age (3.0) beginning around the 1960s. The slide pointedly indicated, "We are here," referencing the period from 2010 to now.
This current era, starting circa 2010, is characterized by:
Generative AI
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Robotics and automation
Cloud infrastructure
Internet of Things (IoT)
Self-driving vehicles
Biotech and CRISPR technologies
Dr. Iqbal emphasized that AI is not just another technological advancement but a fundamental platform shift on par with electricity or the internet.
However, Dr. Iqbal also looked ahead, introducing the concept of an upcoming Industry 5.0—what he calls the Bio-fusion Age—projected to emerge around 2040 and beyond, featuring:
Quantum computing
Synthetic biology
Fusion energy
NeuroAI
Brain-computer interfaces
Longevity and anti-aging medicine
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The key message was straightforward: these trends are not temporary—they signify the defining transformation of our era.
AI Is Integral to Every Sector — Including Your Career
To demonstrate AI’s extensive influence, Dr. Iqbal displayed a detailed chart of 18 sectors already being reshaped by artificial intelligence—from expected fields like healthcare, finance, education, and manufacturing to less anticipated areas such as legal research, space missions, sports analytics, and environmental conservation.
The core takeaway was that AI is becoming embedded across all industries, with applications spanning disease diagnosis, crop optimization, fraud prevention, legal procedures, and autonomous technologies.
The data indicated a significant surge in productivity across various global sectors between 2025 and 2026, with the strongest gains in Finance and Healthcare—approaching a 40% increase.
Nevertheless, this rapid growth raises concerns about "Educational Degree Vulnerability," highlighting traditional degrees at high risk of obsolescence:
High Risk: Graphic Design, Administrative Studies, and Liberal Arts are facing high likelihoods of layoffs.
Future-Ready: Degrees in AI & Machine Learning, Data Science, and Healthcare Informatics are the safest options for long-term job stability.
Dr. Iqbal’s intent was not to alarm but to inform. The students and their parents in attendance paid close attention to these insights.
The Unspoken Energy Challenge
One of the evening’s most impactful moments arrived when Dr. Iqbal discussed what he termed the "energy crisis of intelligence." A scatter plot displayed the energy consumption of biological versus artificial systems side by side.
The contrast was striking. The human brain, functioning on approximately 20 watts, supports about 100 trillion synapses in computational capacity. In contrast, training a large AI model with 16,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs can require tens of millions of watts of power.
The slide provided a local reference: British Columbia’s annual electricity use is roughly 60 terawatt-hours, while training a single large AI model can consume around 1 terawatt-hour. For the audience in BC’s Lower Mainland, that was a grounding figure.
Understanding How These Models Operate
Dr. Iqbal took time to clarify the underlying technology of modern AI, explaining the architecture behind tools like ChatGPT. A slide on the Transformer model illustrated how images are divided into patches, converted into tokens, processed through layers of self-attention, and classified with probability scores.
He also shared his own research at Tibb Tech, focusing on applying AI to Generalized Neurological Discovery. This involved a personalized, multimodal system—integrating 1D signals, 2D images, 3D volumes, and 4D videos—processed through a fixed large language model backbone. The aim: to assist in detecting and understanding neurological conditions across diverse patient populations. It showcased AI’s potential when directed at complex medical challenges.
Adapting to a 90-Day Innovation Cycle
Dr. Iqbal stressed that the AI landscape evolves every 90 days. To remain competitive, he encouraged viewing AI as a tool that enhances human decision-making rather than replacing it.
"AI condenses years of learning into weeks," the presentation stated. "Early adopters hold a significant advantage."
Key Takeaway
The overarching message was that humanity is undergoing a crucial technological transition—one that rivals the transformations brought by the steam engine, electricity, or the internet—and may be even more impactful.
AI is not simply transforming industries; it could redefine intelligence, work, and the essence of being human.
For those present, the message was clear: the Age of AI is already upon us, and understanding it is no longer optional—it is vital.
Dr. Iqbal emphasized that AI should be seen as a co-pilot, enhancing human ingenuity, judgment, and skill—only when harnessed intentionally. Those who learn to utilize AI effectively will be the ones who succeed.
"Early adopters gain a substantial competitive edge," the slide stated. This was less reassurance than a call to action.
The concluding session featured Ibrahim Asif Iqbal, who moderated the Q&A, guiding audience questions. As the event wrapped up, attendees left equipped with a clear understanding of what’s ahead—and why everyday people, from professionals and students to parents, cannot afford to ignore the AI revolution.
About the Speaker
Dr. Asim Iqbal is a prominent AI scientist and entrepreneur leading the realm of NeuroAI. He is the Founder & CEO of Tibbling Technologies and an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, holding a Ph.D. from ETH Zürich, Switzerland.
His experience includes roles at major institutions such as Google, MIT, EPFL, and IBM Research, and he holds U.S. patents related to AI. His work has been published in top journals like Nature Machine Intelligence, NeurIPS, and CVPR and involves collaborations with the Broad Institute and Harvard Medical School.
From developing brain-inspired AI systems to deploying innovative healthcare solutions, Dr. Iqbal’s blend of research, industry, and startup experience makes this an essential event for anyone eager to build, innovate, and stay at the forefront of AI advancements.
Dr. Asim Iqbal serves as the CEO of Tibbtech. He can be reached at asim@tibbtech.com or via his team profile at tibbtech.com/team/asim.