Centuries-old lesson inspires challenging conversations on AI in Dubai

The Dubai Future Foundation is inspired, in part, by a cautionary tale: the banning of the printing press in the Arab world. Arabic translations on the new machine were outlawed until the 18th century, nearly 400 years after its invention.

"Banning the printing press because we were afraid of technology put this civilisation on hold for a long time," Abdulaziz Al Jaziri, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer of the Dubai Future Foundation, told The National at the EmTech Conference in Dubai. The same mistake will not be made with emerging technologies in the 21st century.

"Showing people that we are a city for the world and by the world is the best way for us" to advance, Mr Al Jaziri said, adding that Dubai aims to be at the centre of conversations around the deployment of artificial intelligence and in navigating the ethical and governance dilemmas facing emerging technology.

To that end, the foundation is hosting Dubai Future Week, bringing the World Economic Forum’s Future Councils here for its annual meeting ahead of Davos as well as the EmTech Conference alongside the MIT Technology Review.

Professional services firm PwC estimates that AI could contribute $15.7 trillion (Dh57.7tn) to the global economy by 2030, as a result of productivity gains and increased consumer demand driven by AI-enhanced products and services. But the massive economic upside comes with enormous risks.

“Bias is often identified as one of the major risks associated with AI systems. Recently reported cases of known bias in AI — racism in the criminal justice system, gender discrimination in hiring, ethical decisions for autonomous systems — are undeniably worrisome,” said Diego Calix, emerging tech lab lead at PwC Middle East.

“Are your algorithms making decisions that align with your values? Do citizens trust you with their data? How is your organisation affected if you can’t explain how AI systems work? It’s critical to anticipate problems”.

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Right now, there is “a gap” between what the data scientists are building and what the company or government leaders want to achieve with AI, he said. The two sides have to co-operate on what is right and wrong or “the right notion of fairness” and design the rules for the AI system that best meets this notion.

Greg Cross, co-founder and chief business officer of Soul Machines in Auckland, New Zealand, is leading a business that builds avatars for AI platforms – essentially giving a digital body and face to a voice assistant. So far, it is being used for online customer service, such as at ABC Bank in Bahrain. Digital assistant ‘Fatema’ helps customers with mobile banking. Proctor & Gamble’s SK-II is using a digital assistant dubbed ‘Yumi’ to sell skincare products in Japan and China and Mercedes-Benz is piloting its own customer service assistant.

"We believe machines will be more helpful to us if they are more like us," Mr Cross told The National. There are "endless" ethical quandaries in AI, he said, including on data privacy and the diversity of data being used to train AI, which can either encourage or minimise bias.

Written into Soul Machines’ shareholder agreement is a rule against digital avatars engaging in unethical behaviour. Mr Cross said the board of directors has “regular discussion on ethics”, but he is eager for more guidelines on AI governance and data protection.

Haytham Dbouk, the founder of Innovating Green Technology, is partnering with Unicef to treat sewage and washing up water at the Baloul refugee settlement in Lebanon, a place with no plumbing system or a sustainable water supply. Using solar power and AI-enabled sensors, his product can turn grey and black water into water for irrigation to safely grow fruits and vegetables.

The project is in a pilot phase at Baloul, but Mr Dbouk said blanket policies on data sharing is a dangerous prospect to the progress of his work. He is eager to share data in order to increase the impact his technology can have.

“If someone is working to solve a problem or make a bigger impact, we want to share our data,” he said.

Mr Dbouk’s work with NGOs is another cautionary tale, one against blanket policies that could discourage knowledge sharing.

England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29

The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

France and Covid-19

France orders 250 million masks to ease shortage

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England Test squad

Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts

The specs

Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm

Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto

Price: From Dh139,995

On sale: now

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

The%20specs

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COMPANY%20PROFILE

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Co%20Chocolat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Iman%20and%20Luchie%20Suguitan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fahad%20bin%20Juma%2C%20self-funding%2C%20family%20and%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

MATCH INFO

Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')

Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

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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COMPANY%20PROFILE

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Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates