Introduction
Governments, companies, universities, scientific and industrial research centers, and financial institutions that do not keep pace with artificial intelligence developments put themselves out of competition and lose the bets of the future. This has become an established fact, and this is what we saw and heard about in a number of forums and courses, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Riyadh Economic Forum, and also the World Government Summit in Dubai, and we saw the enthusiasm of some of the world’s senior strategic planners and decision makers.Resource management and environmental protection to achieve sustainability are inside this circle, as artificial intelligence can shift development paths in multiple and conflicting directions, from maintaining the balance of natural resources to depleting them.
While the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) isn't entirely new, its development represents a revolutionary jump forward from the capabilities of early computers. These early machines were primarily limited to performing specific tasks, such as numerical calculations and data management, based on pre-defined instructions. In contrast, AI aims to achieve significant advancements in linking, comparing, and analyzing data from diverse sources, while trying to enable it to simulate the way the human mind works in making decisions. But this remains governed by the availability of correct and reliable data.
Artificial intelligence is able to generate data in the first place, on the ground and in laboratories and research centers. And here we can see that there are many examples of gaps in data generation and reliability in the field of environment and nature, from measuring the quality of air, soil, water and oceans, and the deposits of toxic fertilizers and pesticides in food products and forests, to information related to climate change. The lack of accurate data in a number of countries in these fields is due to the fact that it has not been generated in the first place, neither on the ground nor in the laboratory, and the little of it that exists is subject to restrictions that limit its publication.
Hence, the results of using artificial intelligence in planning programs for resource management, environmental care, and sustainable development in general remain dependent on the accuracy of the available data. Only then the AI can accelerate task completion along with accurate results.
While it is certain that those who lag behind in artificial intelligence will fall out of the competition, not only in governance but also in other areas, including health, education, urban planning, financial markets, energy, water, and addressing climate change, we see that there is a noticeable development on the path to digital transformation, of course with... large disparities between countries.
In many countries, artificial intelligence centers and academies have been established for education and research purposes, but it remains that the success of training centers and academies in pushing the transformation towards keeping pace with artificial intelligence depends on their success in building national capabilities and skills that lead this transformation, as well as in supporting scientific research to generate accurate data to be the basis for the work of artificial intelligence, lest we turn into consumers of ready-made knowledge and technologies controlled by other parties and directed according to their interests, especially since a limited number of companies are trying to monopolize this sector, which threatens to create some sort of authorities that controls the fate of humanity.Also, excessive reliance on ready-made artificial intelligence systems may lead to boredom, dullness, and stopping the pursuit of knowledge and science, while more learning, research, and innovation are required to control these systems.
Conclusion
In the absence of scientific foundations and ethical controls for using artificial intelligence facilities, its advantage in collecting, linking, and analyzing data at high speed may lead to negative effects like exhausting the discovered limited resources collecting greater profits or altering basic data to manipulate the results according to the interests of some parties. While building a solid scientific and human foundation for new technology opens up limitless horizons.
Here comes the question…Is it better to completely transfer decision-making power to artificial intelligence programs in order to ensure the absence of bias and prevent private interest from prevailing over the decisions of government officials?
The answer here remain theoretical, because artificial intelligence programs are not subject to accountability, and have their limitations based on human-made data, controls, and software. If the use of artificial intelligence is necessary to keep pace with the times, then the responsibility for major decisions in development policies remains with humans, and what is required is to strengthen accountability in public administration, not weaken it.
Do you have another opinion? Share it in the comments
*Image designed using Canva