The Abu Dhabi Book Fair organized a seminar titled “Content and Artificial Intelligence… The Question of the Future” discussing important issues related to the future of the publishing industry in light of the current technological developments.
Participating in the seminar were Dr. Said Al Zaheri, Director of the Center for Future Studies at the University of Dubai, Dr. Mohamed Khalif, Coordinator of Digital Culture and Information Structure at the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt, Caroline Camins, Director of Policies and Public Affairs at the British Publishers’ Association, Nadim Sadek, CEO of Shemr Company, and the dialogue was moderated by Sharif Bakr, General Manager of Al Arabi Publishing House.
Nadim Sadek emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence in the field of publishing and printing, affirming that AI can contribute to expanding our horizons and increasing our knowledge by understanding neuroscience and revealing new things we did not know before.
He also pointed out that artificial intelligence cannot perform the same role in creative writing, as it cannot compose a complete book but can only assist in the writing process.
Caroline Camins from the British Publishers’ Association mentioned that they publish a lot of works and collaborate with independent publishing houses, expressing admiration for the progress made by artificial intelligence in the past two years, as it helps in marketing, publishing large quantities, and documenting citations. She emphasized the need to leverage this technology for creating new opportunities in the field of printing and publishing.
Dr. Mohamed Khalif, who has been working in publishing for over twenty years, stated that there has been a revolution in generative artificial intelligence that presents new challenges in developing and enriching Arabic content. He explained that the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt has studied the impact of artificial intelligence on humans since the launch of “GB Chat,” and they are currently working on developing content and dealing with the challenges arising from this technology.
He affirmed that generative artificial intelligence poses a challenge in preserving our heritage and developing skills to ensure the Arab world’s ability to keep pace with these efforts.
Dr. Said Al Zaheri shared his experience with artificial intelligence, mentioning that after preparing a master’s thesis in artificial intelligence specializing in biomedical engineering, he collaborated with a medical center in Boston to utilize technology in the healthcare field. It was revealed that artificial intelligence contributed to improving the prediction rate of heart attack by 75 percent.
