The World Youth Forum discussed artificial intelligence and its importance to the future of humans, reports Reem Leila. One of the highlights of the World Youth Forum was a session on artificial intelligence. The session, “Artificial Intelligence and Humans: Who is in Control?”, discussed artificial intelligence as an important factor for the future of Egypt's youth who are determined not to miss the opportunity to catch up with industrial development. During the session, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi announced that Egypt will introduce a “new generation of universities” next year to serve as a home for new technologies. “Technology has had a positive impact on advanced countries, therefore, we have no time to waste on rivalries. The world is leaping forward and if we do not catch up at the same pace, we will be left behind,” he said. Al-Sisi pointed to the necessity of being part of the ongoing global industrial revolution, stressing the importance of preparing for a new job market that is technology oriented. “Artificial intelligence can give us a chance to eliminate human error, save time and lower corruption levels,” he said, adding that “the government will move next year to the new administrative capital, which is equipped with new technologies to improve performance and overcome corruption.” According to the president, automation in data collection has helped Egypt correct its subsidy system and allowed it to eliminate two million unnecessary subsidy cards. The session witnessed the introduction of “Sophia”, a social humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics and activated in February 2016. Addressing workshop attendees, Sophia said “robots can help accomplish tasks that people refuse to do and they can provide analysis and work in different and difficult environments without affecting the quality.” Meanwhile, Martin Wezowski, chief designer at SAP's Innovation Centre Network and Innovation Office in Germany pointed out during the session that robots are used to improve the daily lives of humans so as to lead a better life. “Industrial intelligence has swept all sectors of our lives since the end of 2017, thus increasing economies by $16 trillion, which led to improving economic conditions and creating more job opportunities. At the same time, traditional jobs will eventually disappear,” Wezowski said. Wezowski said technology is and will be our future, whereas arts, philosophy and ethics will be the governing characteristics of this technology. He said there is a large and growing number of people connected to the internet, most of them from developing countries. “Therefore the information and communications sector must be wisely governed and managed. Financial markets have trust in algorithms and 97 per cent of the world's economy is managed by algorithms, which reflects the growing confidence in artificial intelligence,” added Wezowski. Stephen Ibraki, president and co-founder of Redds Capital, at the Department of Public Partnership in Canada, emphasised the importance of artificial intelligence in increasing the GDP of countries. Artificial intelligence has created more than 58 million new jobs since 2017.
