Language is not just a collection of labels for the world – it is the blueprint for how we think, feel and experience reality. As the cognitive scientist Prof Lera Boroditsky puts it, each language “provides its own cognitive toolkit and encapsulates the knowledge and worldview developed over thousands of years within a culture”.
This is especially true of the Arabic language. Its rich linguistic range and unique expression of emotion, thought and culture often have no parallel. However, Arabic – like many other languages – is contending with the rise of AI, an advanced technology that has made its way into our daily lives.
What happens when emerging tech and AI developments fail to account for the Arabic language – especially in commonly used models such as ChatGPT and Claude that have woven themselves into our daily lives? As it stands, popular large language models and chatbots are trained predominantly on English content. According to data from Statista, less than 1 per cent of AI models are trained on Arabic content.
The result? Stilted, unnatural answers that lack nuance. As Mohammed Moneb Khaled, an Emirati Arabic AI researcher, told AramcoWorld magazine in June, models like ChatGPT tend to give Arabic responses that “sound unnatural, and literal translations do not have the same meaning”.
When AI cannot speak Arabic reliably and fluently, it does not just fail on a technical level, it fails culturally
Important cultural subtext gets lost because the AI is essentially trying to force Arabic ideas into an English mould. This “AI translation” approach is not just a minor inconvenience, it can erase linguistic and cognitive diversity. So, as such technology become more ubiquitous, the absence of Arabic-native AI is not a mere oversight, it is a cultural crisis.
Why does this matter? Because AI is not just another tech product – it is poised to become our confidant, adviser and assistant. When AI cannot speak Arabic reliably and fluently, it does not just fail on a technical level, it fails culturally.
Consider the depth lost when AI translates the rich concept of “tarab” merely as “musical enchantment” or reduces the complex emotional resilience described by “sabr” to “patience” when it encompasses so much more – a sense of graceful perseverance and faith during hardship. These are not linguistic gaps, they are chasms of cultural concepts.
These words carry emotional and cultural weight built over centuries. They resist clean translation because they emerge from Arabic’s unique cultural context. When we lose these words, we lose worlds. Crucially, these linguistic nuances are not just vocabulary, they shape emotional processing. An Arabic speaker describing their depression might say they feel a sense of “ghurba” or invoke “sabr” as a coping mechanism.
Beyond miscommunication, there is a deeper issue of identity. Language carries identity, and repeatedly encountering technology that “prefers” English can send a subtle message that Arabic is second-class in the digital world. It is disheartening for Arab users – especially younger generations – to find that talking to Siri or Alexa in Arabic is far less effective than in English, or that an Arabic prompt to a chatbot yields a gibberish answer.
Over time, people using such technology might default to English, slowly estranging themselves from their mother tongue in professional or technical domains. This is how linguistic diversity fades – not by force, but by convenience and neglect.
We urgently need AI that thinks in Arabic – not as an act of ethnic pride, but as a necessity for a fair and rich digital future. Truly Arabic-native LLMs are essential for several reasons. An Arabic-native AI would uphold the nuances of Arabic identity instead of diluting them.
It would use Arabic proverbs, quote Al Mutanabbi’s poetry where relevant, and understand the subtext behind a phrase like “inshallah”. This affirms to users that their language – and by extension their culture – belongs in the digital age. It keeps Arabic alive and evolving on its own terms, preventing the scenario where future generations engage with technology only in English and let their Arabic atrophy. If Arabic is left behind, so are its speakers.
Second, if AI is to serve humanity it must encompass the full range of human thinking patterns. Arabic offers a fundamentally different structure – a right-to-left script, a root-based word system, and flexible word order – and has a treasure trove of classical texts on logic, law and philosophy. Training AI on these will introduce new perspectives into how the AI “thinks”. For instance, Arabic’s logical treatises and unique grammar, such as the dual form and grammatical gender, could broaden AI’s problem-solving approaches.
More broadly, each language an LLM masters makes generative-AI programs smarter and more versatile. Including Arabic is not just good for Arabs, it is good for AI and the world. It forces AI to learn concepts it might never encounter in monolingual training. Embracing global cognitive diversity ensures AI is not one-dimensional. Much as biodiversity strengthens an ecosystem, linguistic diversity strengthens our AI systems’ understanding, avoiding a one-size-fits-all intelligence.
Recent years have witnessed promising Arabic AI development across the region, led by pioneering institutions laying the groundwork for a more linguistically and culturally rooted digital future.
In the UAE, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s Jais model, developed with US company Cerebras and Abu Dhabi tech group G42, is one of the world’s most advanced bilingual Arabic-English language models, trained to understand both Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects.
In Doha, the Qatar Computing Research Institute has launched Fanar – an instruction-tuned Arabic model built entirely in-house, designed to handle culturally nuanced tasks and support the country’s digital priorities. Meanwhile, the Saudi Data and AI Authority, in partnership with IBM, has released ALLaM – an open-source Arabic model built to reflect national values and serve both public and private sectors.
These efforts are vital – not only technologically, but symbolically – affirming as they do that Arabic belongs at the centre of AI development, not at its margins. But to truly meet the scale of what is possible, we need sustained investment, collaborative research and infrastructure that treat Arabic not as a downstream use case, but as a primary driver of innovation.
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Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
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For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
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Why are you, you?
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
