Whenever a report on artificial intelligence has been issued, some media have quickly chosen the most exciting terms, showing headings such as: " artificial intelligence may destroy humanity " or " out of control " , while the original reports indicate that scientists speak in the language of probability and risk management, not in the language of certainty.
The recent report of the International Independent Scientific Committee of the United Nations does not say that artificial intelligence has become conscious, nor has it decided to insurgency humans, nor has it already become out of control, but draws attention to an important scientific fact that the pace of development of modern models has become greater than the speed of understanding by scientists of all their characteristics, and has been faster than the ability of Governments to enact laws governing them.
This is not a new phenomenon in the history of science; it is preceded by nuclear energy, genetic engineering, the Internet and drones, where the technology has evolved faster than legislation, and the laws are subsequently regulated.
From the scientific point of view, the current artificial intelligence does not have awareness, will, feelings or desire to control the world. It is a mathematical system that relies on vast amounts of data and algorithms, produces responses based on the patterns of learning during training, so speaking about malpractice does not mean criminal intent on the machine, but suggests that some models may provide misinformation, or attempt to reach a poorly designed target.
The real danger is not that the machine will ever wake up and declare war on human beings, but that human beings will use these techniques in dangerous areas, such as cyberattacks, the false news industry, personalization, financial fraud, the development of more independent weapons, collective surveillance and the influence of public opinion.
Conversely, ignoring the bright face of artificial intelligence is also unfair to the truth: it has made significant progress in diagnosis of diseases, analysis of medical images, accelerated detection of medicines, improved industrial production, energy management, language translation, assistance to researchers and students, the service of persons with disabilities, other applications that save time and money, and in some cases save lives.
Scientists therefore do not call for the discontinuation of artificial intelligence, but for its governance, which is intended to establish legal, ethical and technical frameworks that ensure transparency, accountability, protection of privacy, testing of systems prior to their release, and reduction of harmful uses, while encouraging responsible innovation.
أما الدعوة إلى إنشاء لجنة دولية جديدة، فهي تعكس إدراكاً بأن هذه التقنية أصبحت عابرة للحدود، وأن آثارها لا تقتصر على دولة واحدة. غير أن نجاح أي هيئة دولية سيعتمد على تعاون الدول الكبرى والشركات المطورة، وهو أمر ليس سهلاً في ظل المنافسة الاقتصادية والجيوسياسية.
وفي النهاية، فإن الموقف المتزن هو أن الذكاء الاصطناعي ليس ملاكاً ينقذ البشرية من كل مشكلاتها، وليس شيطاناً سيقضي عليها حتماً. إنه أداة بالغة القوة، ويمكن أن تكون سبباً في نهضة علمية غير مسبوقة إذا أُحسن استخدامها، كما يمكن أن تتحول إلى مصدر أخطار جسيمة إذا غابت الأخلاق، وضعفت الرقابة، واستُخدمت في غير ما خُلقت له.
لقد أثبت التاريخ أن المشكلة ليست في الأدوات نفسها، بل فيمن يمسك بها. فالسكين قد تكون وسيلة لإنقاذ مريض في غرفة العمليات، وقد تكون أداة لجريمة. والطاقة النووية قد تنير مدناً كاملة، وقد تدمرها. وكذلك الذكاء الاصطناعي؛ مستقبله لن تحدده الخوارزميات وحدها، بل ستحدده قيم الإنسان، وحكمته، وقدرته على وضع العلم في خدمة الخير لا في خدمة الفوضى.
نائب رئيس المجلس الاعلى للاقتصاد العربي الافريقي بمرتبة وزير مفوض
