Doha: A symposium was convened as part of the cultural salon activities at the 35th Doha International Book Fair (DIBF). The event plainly called for the establishment of specialized national councils tasked with monitoring knowledge flows and addressing challenges related to digital media and artificial intelligence.
According to Qatar News Agency, the symposium, themed on building knowledge through culture and media, featured remarks by Qatari writer Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi. Al Hammadi highlighted the importance of building societal awareness capable of dealing with the rapid transformations in the era of technology and algorithms. She suggested that it is significant to formulate upper echelon consultative commissions comprising experts in media, culture, AI, and national security. These commissions would aim to identify knowledge gaps before they become real threats, noting that building media sovereignty has become imperative amid global digital transformations.
The panel addressed global realignments in the post-globalization era and the rise of the digital economy, pointing out that humans have shifted from being consumers of knowledge to commodities handled by algorithms that direct their options. The session also warned of the danger posed by algorithms' control over daily knowledge flow, emphasizing that "the algorithm does not lie, but it chooses, and in this choice lies the danger."
Additionally, the panel delved into the future of knowledge in the era of AI, indicating that current models are based on past data and carry the biases of their developers, placing Arabic content in a vulnerable position compared to the dominance of Western content in training data. Al Hammadi advocated for launching major cultural and educational projects to be trained on AI, such as the creation of an Arab and Islamic digital memory to build an enduring Arab database. This would support the development of domestic AI models and enhance the global presence of Arab content.
Al Hammadi emphasized the importance of launching the Critical Citizen Project to deepen critical thinking skills among students and society. She stressed that this project would teach individuals how to consciously handle AI outputs and not solely rely on pre-existing information.
Saudi academic and critic Dr. Manal Al Qathami, during a symposium on knowledge and the making of renaissance, highlighted the role of reading in shaping nations. She noted that reading represents a core pillar in building individuals and driving development, with reading societies being more capable of confronting intellectual and media misinformation. Al Qathami underscored that reading not only generates knowledge but also helps build a critical mindset and fosters individual and collective awareness. She warned against the growing superficiality of knowledge from reliance on fast, short content, which results in a decline in deep thinking and analysis.
Dr. Al Qathami stressed the criticality of reading in safeguarding cultural identity and the Arabic language. She confirmed that thriving reading contributes to building a common cultural reference, fostering dialogue and understanding in society, whose decline leads to frailty of thought and cultural belonging.