How are Arab universities preparing for artificial intelligence?
Introduction:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various industries and sectors worldwide, and Arab universities are not lagging behind in recognizing its potential.
These educational institutions are taking proactive steps to prepare their students for the AI-driven future. In this blog, we will explore how Arab universities are embracing AI, the initiatives they are undertaking, and the significance of their efforts in shaping the region’s technological landscape.
Teachers around the world are struggling to understand the nature of generative artificial intelligence, which was launched at the end of last year, and Lebanese English and liberal arts lecturer Rene Azzi seized this flurry to contribute to the global debate.
GPT Chat
Shortly after the launch of GPT Chat. In late November 2022, Qazi participated in a diverse conference on new technology at the Lebanese American University, joined by faculty members from American institutions, and began applying the knowledge she had gained in Lebanon and abroad.
Title: Arab Universities Embrace the Future: Preparing for Artificial Intelligence
Recognizing the Importance of AI:
Arab universities understand that AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of industries such as healthcare, finance, transportation, and more.
They recognize the need to equip their students with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in this evolving landscape. By embracing AI, these universities aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering innovation and driving economic growth in the region.
Curriculum Enhancement:
Arab universities are actively enhancing their curricula to incorporate AI-related courses and programs. They are introducing specialized degrees in AI, machine learning, data science, and robotics.
These programs provide students with a solid foundation in AI concepts, algorithms, and applications. By integrating AI into various disciplines, universities are preparing students for AI-driven careers across diverse sectors.
Research and Development:
Arab universities are investing in research and development (R&D) initiatives focused on AI.
They are establishing dedicated AI research centers and labs, fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government entities. These R&D efforts aim to advance AI technologies, address regional challenges, and contribute to the global AI community.
By conducting cutting-edge research, Arab universities are positioning themselves as key players in the AI ecosystem.
Partnerships and Collaborations:
To further strengthen their AI initiatives, Arab universities are forging partnerships and collaborations with leading international institutions and industry players.
These partnerships facilitate knowledge exchange, joint research projects, and access to resources and expertise. By leveraging global networks, Arab universities can accelerate their AI capabilities and provide students with exposure to international best practices.
Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovation:
Arab universities are fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among their students by encouraging innovation and supporting AI-driven startups.
They are establishing incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship programs that provide mentorship, funding, and resources to aspiring AI entrepreneurs.
By nurturing a culture of innovation, Arab universities are empowering students to create AI solutions that address regional challenges and contribute to economic growth.
Ethical Considerations:
Arab universities are also addressing the ethical implications of AI. They are incorporating discussions on AI ethics, privacy, bias, and transparency into their curricula.
By emphasizing the importance of responsible AI development, Arab universities are preparing students to navigate the ethical challenges associated with AI implementation.
“I immediately formed an institutional review board to conduct classroom research at the Lebanese American University,” she says. “For the first time, I didn’t feel like I needed to wait for outside expertise. We were all in the same trenches.”
The foundation now has a 15-member committee working to develop a university-wide policy statement on the use of AI in the classroom, during the academic term next fall.
She added: “I went to Berlin on an exchange program last April and I was teaching a group of German students about generative artificial intelligence, and most of them had never used it. At a time when our students at the Lebanese American University were misusing it from the beginning.”
Since the launch of “GPT Chat” With the widespread popularity of artificial intelligence in society, the media seems saturated with discussions about the cost of the new technology, its benefits, biases, and the data and concerns it raises regarding user privacy, especially with a focus on how it affects the way we work.
However, articles discussing these matters are rare in the Arab world, especially in the field of education.
The AI landscape in Europe
The AI landscape in Europe, where a draft bill known as the “AI Act” was passed last June that would restrict the riskiest uses of this technology.
Stands in sharp contrast to the absence of AI policy in the United States, where technological features have a record Indifference to social costs and privacy concerns, as evidenced in Mark Zuckerberg’s famous slogan “Move fast and break tradition,” reflects a deeper division over the uses of technology and its ethical issues, while providing an opportunity for the Arab world to learn from different perspectives.
Although the United States is a leading center for AI research, in many cases faculty members have not been able to get to grips with this new technology (enforced by GBT).
FLOWER DARBY IS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI IN COLUMBIA
In the United Arab Emirates, the first country to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in 2017, hundreds of government employees have undergone extensive training in generative artificial intelligence through the Dubai Future Academy. The country is also proud of the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, dedicated exclusively to postgraduate research in this field.
National Strategy
In October 2020, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia revealed the National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, after establishing the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority and the National Center for Artificial Intelligence the previous year.
According to this vision, the government plans to train 20,000 specialists in data and artificial intelligence by the year 2030, noting that many of the goals of Vision 2030 involve some aspects of data and artificial intelligence.
King Abdullah University
To this end, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in the Kingdom, after launching ChatGBT, developed a program for undergraduate students with the aim of training talented students to become leaders in the field of artificial intelligence.
The Lebanese cultural magazine “Rehla,” which describes itself as “experimental, profound, and free,” devoted its latest issue to the topic of artificial intelligence with a dark bent. On its cover, it depicted a teenager with his head partially open, showing parts of electronic chips, in a picture similar to the inside of an iPhone.
In an article written by Yaman Tohme, entitled “Needs of Imagination,” she described the contradictory nature of generative artificial intelligence in the Arabic-speaking world: “In this digital hierarchy, what frees us from its influence is because it is ignorant of our existence.
These ignorant algorithms of the Arabic language and its components will not be able to enslave its letters and bend them in their path.”
“To make profit and impose its authority. We have the right to dream about the possibilities of creativity that the wave of artificial intelligence promises, if only because we live in a world that feeds on our desperation to make a difference.”
Qazi, who lectures in English, points out that the new tool also helps students in Lebanon, whose first language is not English, overcome linguistic obstacles in areas such as laboratory research.
According to data extracted from Google Search Trends, Lebanon ranked fifth globally in the number of searches on GBT Chat, which is a positive indication of the country’s adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
Confusion in American higher education
Although the United States is a leading center for AI research, faculty members in many cases have not been able to get to grips with this new technology (enforced by GBT), says Flower Darby, associate director of the Center for Education.
For Learning at the University of Missouri-Columbia: “Many, if not most, faculty are completely ignoring it. It seems, quite frankly, that faculty have been exhausted by the burdensome online teaching of the past three years. And then there is this big challenge that looms in The horizon and they cannot understand or deal with it.
” In addition, educational institutions are not issuing statements and directives in this regard, despite the widespread use of this tool among students, according to Darby.
In some cases, professors lament the demise of traditional education, describe new technology as a “plague,” and fear intellectual property theft and technology-assisted cheating. However, the ability to detect any intellectual property infringement using artificial intelligence has proven difficult.
“Wrongful cheating”… and injustice to students
In fact, in one unfortunate case at Texas A&M Agricultural & Mechanical University in May, an agriculture teacher incorrectly used theft and fraud detection software, posing a threat to a student’s diploma.
Director Darby is closely monitoring the state of panic and extreme chaos in the higher education landscape, and she has several recommendations, which she outlined in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, in which she focused in particular on the ethical concerns of requesting that students create an account, and thus agree to donate their data to companies that launch…
These tools. One suggestion is to use the tool in a group, using an existing student account. Another suggestion involves the professor using the tool.
Recommendation
The latest recommendation is exactly what Perry Kleban, an entrepreneur, former head of sales and marketing at Patagonia, and co-founding member of the Stanford University School of Design, does.
In early May, Kleban participated in a teaching webinar with Sebastian Krakowski, a researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics who researches the ability of artificial intelligence to help develop our creativity.
The first public webinar attracted four thousand people. “In previous topics, I only received 50 questions, but we received 500 questions and most of them were very concerned, including: Will AI take my job? Is AI safe? Will AI hack my bank account?” Kleban said.artificial intelligence Arab
We need critical positions that emerge from human thought, especially since a field such as history related to the real present and the archived past is necessary to study how people deal with these technologies.
MERV TEKGÜRLER IS A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE IN HISTORY AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
What Kleban took away from that experience was working with his students to use AI tools in the classroom, that is, putting himself in the learning situation alongside them:
“I would connect these big screens to each other and we would literally set up a Zoom conference call in the classroom until “Everyone can work at the same time, and we’re able to share screens. It seems beyond every student’s personal discretion, and it was at times.
But this is a seismic shift, and every student needs to recognize it and use it responsibly.” artificial intelligence Arab
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
GPT chat: A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Kleban’s approach
Kleban’s approach parallels that of Qazi at the Lebanese American University, both of whom adopted generative AI with students in the classroom, while not shying away from criticizing ethical concerns and imprecision, and approaching the issue with awareness.
Kleban describes generative AI as a great “choice engine” rather than an “answer engine,” because it is “only as good as you feed it with deductive reasoning,” and even then, the potential for inaccuracy remains.
Merv Tekgurler, a doctoral candidate in history at Stanford University, expressed her enthusiasm for generative AI, especially in research that includes training a model to recognize handwritten text of 18th-century Ottoman Turkish, even though the data is biased in favor of European languages.
She believes that the humanities have a role to play in guiding the debate at a time when most of the functions of artificial intelligence are related to either engineering or politics: “We need critical positions that emerge from human thought, especially since a field such as history, related to the real present and the archived past, is necessary to study how to deal with… people with these technologies.”
Generative AI is a great “choice engine” rather than an “answer engine,” because “it is only as good as you feed it deductive reasoning,” and even then, the potential for inaccuracy remains
PERRY KLEBAN, ENTREPRENEUR AND FORMER HEAD OF SALES AND MARKETING AT PATAGONIA
Traditional teaching methods are being reconsidered, not just in Kleban’s classrooms, but around the world, while some professors are completely overhauling their teaching programmes.
At the Lebanese American University, part of the institution’s policy will include more emphasis on oral exams and presentations, according to Jordan Srour, assistant vice chancellor for educational resources and innovation:
“We are also working on a flexible policy that allows about 25 percent of grades to be obtained through the use of artificial intelligence.” “.
Razan Abi Al-Muna
Razan Abi Al-Muna, a 19-year-old finance student at the Lebanese American University, said that from Qazi’s technology, ethics, and global society class, she learned how to “use artificial intelligence consciously” whenever she faced an obstacle. “Sometimes it was helpful, other times it wasn’t.
I ended up liking my own ideas and using them instead. Sometimes, it pushed me to think better, especially when the answers were very general.
AI is what we make it, How do we use it and control it while it does not control us? She added: “The conscious and ethical use of artificial intelligence in Lebanon would be wonderful.
In my opinion, it is not a job destroyer, but rather a new technological field. With current unemployment rates, this could be a big boost.”
I’m Hassan Saeed, a Clinical Psychology graduate deeply engaged in the realms of WordPress, blogging, and technology. I enjoy merging my psychological background with the digital landscape. Let’s connect and explore these exciting intersections!
