Musician pitches for human, artificial intelligence

dubai — Governments must invest in the youth and teach them to solve their own problems using the technology of the future, urged an American musician.

Attending the World Government Summit, Will.i.am, best known as the founder of the band Black Eyed Peas, said people must work together in unison and be agents of change in their communities.

“We must work whether to allow electricity to understand speech put together noise [music] to bring peace to someone’s heart,” he said in a session moderated by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, around ‘Access to Technology and Development’.

The musician has started a school in his community to give children the access to quality education. “I have seen a dramatic change in my own community, with 100 per cent of a class graduating and 80 per cent going on to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem). I have seen progress in my whole community with resources I had which isn’t as much as governments,” he said.

Will.i.am urged governments to invest in human intelligence and equip our kids with the skills to succeed in the future. “Human Intelligence is as important as Artificial Intelligence and we should invest in both,” he stressed.

The musician added that there’s no need to fear AI especially if it’s something that we created. “We made a train, and drove it… We shouldn’t fear what we created.”

He added: “We are so engrained in yesterday that we cannot see the opportunities for a better tomorrow. So we need to ensure that our children are given the skills and tools to work with the technology of the future and not to fear AI.”

He said that AI will not replace jobs, but will “augment jobs.”

The singer stressed that people should ask themselves whether they’re agents of change or just part of the world, urging each one to take a step and make the world a better place. “We should help educate the youth to solve their own problems using new tools, it is an investment that would resolve things we cannot imagine.”

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

We are so engrained in yesterday that we cannot see the opportunities for a better tomorrow. So we need to ensure that our children are given the skills and tools to work with the technology of the future and not to fear Artificial Intelligence.” Will.i.am, founder, band Black Eyed Peas