Culture’s importance in an AI-driven society was a key theme on the opening day of this year’s Culture Summit Abu Dhabi. Running at Manarat Al Saadiyat until Tuesday, the seventh year of the event brings together thought leaders from government, technology, the arts, heritage, film and music for discussions on the future of their sectors.
Under the theme Culture for Humanity and Beyond, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), set the tone by highlighting the expected benefits and challenges facing the global creative industries in the wake of the AI revolution.
“Together we can ensure that AI enhances creativity and empowers humanity, not displaces it," he said as part of his opening remarks. "Our collective ambition is simple – to chart a path towards a more sustainable and human-centred global society, with culture as its compass."
AI ethicist Mo Gawdat expanded on that point with a stark yet hopeful address on the future of AI in modern societies. The former Google X executive said technology has already achieved autonomy in decision-making.
"There is a very big difference between the way we coded computers when I was a young man, where I solved the problem in my head and then told the computer, through data, what to do," he said. "The computers, being so fast and scalable, appeared intelligent, but the one that had the intelligence was the developer. That ended basically at the turn of the 21st century. From the early 2000s onwards, we started to let computers make their own decisions. As they did that, they became autonomous and I think that's a very interesting keyword."
Gawdat described the situation as a pivotal moment for human civilisation – a fork in the road when it comes to deciding how to harness AI for society's future. He advocates a human-centred approach to the technology, akin to raising “a child with special powers”.
"We have a responsibility and a duty – every single one of us. That duty is to raise AI. I call it raising Superman. Think of the analogy: Superman is this super alien with superpowers who comes to Earth. He can stop speeding bullets, fly, carry anything, break anything – but he’s adopted by parents who teach him to protect and serve, so he becomes Superman. If that same alien had been adopted by parents who told him to steal, kill and lock the enemy away, he would have become a supervillain," he said. "That's why we don't make decisions based on our intelligence – and neither does AI, by the way. We make decisions based on our morality, as informed by our intelligence.”
AI’s disruption and promise are also forcing artists, curators and programmers to re-evaluate how to use the technology in their respective practices. In a session moderated by The National's Editor-in-chief Mina Al-Oraibi, the creative director behind Broadway blockbuster Hamilton, David Korins, described AI’s arrival into the arts and cultural space as part of an old story.
"Museums used to be filled with didactic panels all night. Then in the 1920s and 1930s, when televisions were invented and monetised, screens started showing up to make those panels more dynamic," he said. "Then came projections, then generated projections and now we are walking through immersive worlds. Technology adds layers to storytelling but it should never take over the story itself."
Korins urged contemporaries to "lean in" to the opportunities AI affords rather than remain suspicious. "Disruption has caused an extraordinary amount of raw, authentic growth," he said. "Some of the greatest pieces of literature and music have been created in the shadow of, or directly because of, disruption. Fear, on the other hand, narrows people's vision. It makes people not feel heard, not feel seen."
Jewellery designer Lama Hourani is circumspect about how AI could transform her craft – choosing to use the technology for efficiency rather than creativity. "AI today isn't my best friend. I use it occasionally to save time,” she said. “But I know I need to open my mind – not only for myself, but for my children, who will grow up with a massive technological landscape around them. I need to constantly find a common ground and a common language with future generations."
