When are we moving to Mars?

During the Space Settlement forum, over 170 international experts and decision makers will discuss ways to unify efforts to solve challenges in discovering outer space. Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, said long-term programmes are needed to discover Mars and life outside earth. The forum will focus on finding sustainable energy solutions and developing food systems in Mars. “Life in space will require different systems for developing energy and using it to build life, so we need to expand on technology learning,” said Al Amiri. By the end, reports on recommendations of ways to discover outer space will be launched and discussed through sessions and workshops hosted in collaboration with Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre.

> How AI can contribute to human happiness

Questions of whether AI will dominate human thinking and intelligence will be addressed during the first-time forum. Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said the most important aspect to be explored is how AI will touch fields, governments and individuals, which will be discussed by over 100 experts and scientists. “About 80 per cent of government expenses goes towards salaries and the labour force. We will explore how AI can make governments more efficient.” He added that AI will measure human behaviour and understand emotions, therefore helping the government to come up with policies that address different issues to contribute to citizen happiness. Governing AI, he said, is a major topic that will result in a big change for governments. “AI will measure what impacts human life in seconds, which normally takes us years to measure. We want to create, not only change, futures,” said Al Olama.