It is neither a regular annual meeting, nor is it a summit made to impress, or to transgress the expected for the sake of change. The World Government Summit (WGS) held annually in Dubai in the UAE over the past seven years is a knowledge-exchange platform, a way of looking closely at innovation and technology, and a forward-looking instrument designed to make the future appear larger, closer and clearer in the present. This year's World Government Summit, closing on 12 February in Dubai, was a global platform dedicated to the future of government and standing at the intersection of government and innovation. While these may seem contradictory categories to those who think of government in terms of bureaucratic routine, this year's panels, workshops and discussions at the WGS helped to bring them closer together, encouraging them to work hand-in-hand. Attending the WGS means departing from Dubai with extra luggage that fortunately does not cost extra fees since it comes in the form of food for thought and hopefully also of work for the future. This year's meeting looked particularly at ways to transform artificial intelligence (AI) into a tool to help humanity rather than to introduce instability or negative impacts. Are governments adapting to technology and the rise of AI, and if so, how are they doing it? UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future Mohamed Al-Gergawi, present at the WGS, said that imagination and ideas were the commodities of the future. “Whoever owns ideas and imagination will own the future. Even wars in the future will be wars of ideas,” he commented, adding that even so the majority of the world's governments are not keeping pace with the technological revolution or doing enough to adapt to a changing world. This changing world, experiencing a fourth industrial revolution, needs greater attention from all, whether governments, the private sector or civil society. The fact that imagination and ideas are as important as oil and gas means much more when we know that 45 per cent of current jobs will change or disappear with the rise of AI. However, speakers at the WGS said that even though jobs will go in the future because of automation and AI, others will also come for the same reasons. But this will need a lot of research and commitment starting now. It will need governments to take control of the future. Control here is not only about power and might but is more about the proper management that can facilitate and lead change smoothly towards the future. There is, however, always a danger of “spinning out of control,” as founder and chair of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab has put it. “The system is under threat by the speed of change and the fourth industrial revolution,” he warns. It is not all about technological change. It is about people who do not want to be left behind. The latter can happen when education is archaic, knowledge is outdated, innovation is stagnant, ideas are dead, and there is a growth of extremism and fanaticism. Social media gurus from sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and others have warned against the spread of hate speech online, brainwashing by religious extremism, or recruitment to terrorist organisations. Facebook's policy manager for counterterrorism in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Erin Marie Saltman said at the WGS that it was no longer enough to crack down on posts connected to hate speech online. She said that censorship could lead to the opposite effect than the one intended, causing such messages to proliferate. She described her job as one that no one, herself included, had thought would exist five years ago. “These jobs simply didn't exist back then. We have to build a whole new realm of positions to tackle extremism,” she said. In 2018 alone, Facebook removed 14.3 million items of content identified as inciting terrorism. However, terrorism comes in different shapes and sizes. In a session dealing with cyber-warfare, information security researcher Rodrigo Bijou warned against the hacking of TV stations, billboards, and even conversations online. Cyber-warfare was a real threat, he said. It might not involve weapons or blood, but it could do real damage. Cyber-warfare goes beyond hacking computer systems and can mean the manipulation of the fabric of society, online and offline, he said. He noted that large organisations and bodies operating in the Middle East have been targeted in cyber-attacks. These attacks were so sophisticated that either governments or government agencies must have been responsible for them. The only way out of such dangers would be for cyber-security strategies to be put in place in a global collaborative context, Bijou said. The WGS also launched a number of unique initiatives, including the Museum of the Future, an initiative of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, designed to explore the future of science, technology and innovation. The museum includes a presentation of government in 2071 as a way of preparing today's governments for the future and for the societal and technological megatrends that are on their way. These have the potential to change how people live and how societies operate and are governed. Another initiative at the WGS was the Edge of Government project under the slogan “powered by you”. This was an immersive experience in which visitors could enter a landscape of miracles that have nevertheless come true. Here it was possible to meet digital twins, empower refugees, activate minds, hack city routines, hyper change harvests and do activities previously thought to be nothing but dreams. Who said dreams cannot come true? The future is a dream that we are preparing to live, and the WGS offered the chance to peek into it. As Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said at the WGS this year, “the human being is the centre of the World Government Summit. Our main aim is to foresee the future in order to improve humanity. The summit unites efforts and ideas to reinforce people's well-being.” 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The writer is a journalist at Al-Hayat newspaper.
