Egypt

The partisan US media

The divided and partisan nature of US television is an image of the intense polarisation of politics in the country, writes Azza Radwan Sedky

Azza Radwan Sedky

Tuesday 29 Aug 2023

Watching American television networks resembles watching a tennis match in which the impression of watching the movement of the spectators’ heads following the ball back and forth is acute. 

Alexander Panetta of the Canadian broadcaster CBC compares toggling between news channels in the US to running “the risk of whiplash from the head-snappingly different treatments of the same story”.

The flagrant contrasts and contradictions between the US networks are baffling, leaving viewers thunderstruck by the juxtapositions. It is as though these networks are conversing not only about different countries, with different peoples and different sets of hopes and aspirations, but also about different world views. 

During a recent visit to the US, I had the opportunity to watch the different networks at work. Once I began watching, I was hooked. I was fascinated by each network’s scope, partisan tone, and allegiance to a particular political party. I was captivated by how each relished the incessant ridicule and degradation of the others. 

While the bias is glaring, these networks sway their viewers to see the relationship between US and the rest of the world through their own eyes. 

CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are the big three cable networks in the US and are considered main sources of political news by American viewers. A Pew Research Centre Survey found that 93 per cent of Fox News viewers follow the Republican Party, while only six per cent are Democrats. In the case of CNN, 17 per cent are Republicans and 79 per cent are Democrats. For MSNBC, the figures are five per cent Republican and 95 per cent Democrats. 

These figures clearly set out the channels’ partisan demographics. 

Surprisingly, the most watched TV network in the US is Fox News, which makes the breadth of its influence very extensive. Approximately 43 per cent of American viewers watch Fox, giving it a distinct ratings advantage. As it caters to Republicans, Fox News skews information towards their liking, making it an influential political springboard. 

However, the same thing goes for the other networks. MSNBC is the second-most-watched network, while CNN has lost in the ratings war lately, hitting a ten-year low and falling to number 12 in terms of viewership. But CNN and MSNBC are still fighting to attract similar numbers of viewers as Fox, and their animosity towards Fox remains distinct.

The battle between the networks is ongoing 24/7, with each refuting everything the other says and claiming that the opposition is manipulative and misinformed. Fox’s adversaries consider it to be a source of propaganda and misinformation. It is said that US President Joe Biden considers Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox News, to be “the most dangerous man in the world”.

Let’s compare a few issues that each network has zeroed in on, among them the upcoming 2024 presidential elections, the controversy over Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the indictments of former US president Donald Trump, and the overturning by the US Supreme Court of the Roe vs Wade ruling on abortion. 

On each of these issues, the stories presented to the US public are twisted to debunk what the other networks say. 

Watch CNN or MSNBC, and you will see Trump presented as being definitely not fit to be president. He has four indictments and over 100 legal charges under his belt that include racketeering, conspiring to overturn the 2020 elections, conspiracy, and many more.  

However, despite the charges, Fox News viewers remain loyal to Trump. According to a poll released by the newspaper The New York Times, only five per cent of the channel’s viewers believe that Trump has committed any serious federal crimes, with 91 per cent saying that he has not done so. 

CNN reports that 83 per cent of Fox News viewers believe that after the 2020 elections Trump was just exercising his right to contest the results. 

A second issue gripping the US networks today is the Hunter Biden story, with Fox seeing this as a scandal worth going after. It considers Hunter Biden’s foreign business transactions, and how they affected his father, to be bribery. Republican Senator Ted Cruz has appeared on Fox News calling for President Biden’s impeachment on the grounds that Hunter used his father’s position to gain foreign business.

 “The investigation [into Hunter Biden] has gone nowhere, other than to protect Hunter Biden and Joe Biden,” Cruz said. 

Fox also said that Biden had cancelled an appearance on MSNBC for fear of questions about Hunter Biden. Fox political commentator Larry Kudlow said that “this is potentially the biggest political scandal in American history.”

Yet, Democrats on CNN and MSNBC see the Hunter Biden case as a non-issue. MSNBC commentator Joy Reid has said that “evidence I’ve seen suggests Hunter Biden is being treated worse than anyone else would be.” A CNN analyst said that “with the focus on Hunter entering a new fever pitch, the question will be whether all the time and effort the Republicans have invested investigating the president’s wayward son will change the storyline.” 

Much the same polarisation occurred during the overturning of the Roe vs Wade decision that had previously legalised abortion across the US in 1973. The overturning effectively ended the recognition of the right to abortion and gave each state the power to allow, limit, or ban it altogether. 

Fox cheered on the Republican Senators who supported the overturning of Roe vs Wade. “The Supreme Court decision is a victory for the pro-life movement and the volunteers who have supported mothers and children for the past 50 years,” it said. Meanwhile, MSNBC considered the overturning to be “as devastating a ruling as can be imagined.” US journalist Pete Williams said on MSNBC that “we are about to become a divided country” — something which seems to be already the case.

In the face of such divisions, US TV viewers are flummoxed and unable to decipher the truth. Despite the waning of television’s popularity, it is quite likely that many people in the US still receive their news by turning on the television and following their favourite networks. But when the news presented is so uneven, and so at odds, they are often denied the opportunity to hear the objective truth. 

What the media in the US is presenting is an image of how divided people in the US have become.

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* The writer is former professor of communication based in Vancouver, Canada.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 31 August, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

 

How Egypt and Nigeria are leading Africa's fashion industry

Ventures (excerpt, read on here)

Fashion meets industrial revolution in Egypt

Egypt on the other hand has had a technical influence on its fashion industry. Firstly, Egypt has been known for their outstanding cotton production, a reputation they have maintained over the years. As of 2009 and 2010, Egypt had contracts with 23 international countries for cotton exports amounting to $140 million. To help its case, the North African country has always been a leader in the industrial revolution, with manufacturing taking front and center. Even when it had a few setback for years, Egypt was still ahead of most parts of Africa. A ranking to prove this. A few years ago, Egypt began re-investing in its manufacturing sector, with the introduction of 10,000 factories in the last seven years. Currently, the country is planning to establish the world’s largest textiles factory in the Delta city of Mahalla, with a production capacity that amounts to 30 tons per day. 

Egypt investment in other sectors that potentially align with its fashion industry also helps the industry’s growth. A good example is its tourism sector. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities recently recorded over seven million tourists in the first half of 2023, a record number. This status as a premier tourist destination, has drawn visitors from across the world. Beyond regular tourism, this year, Egypt held its first fashion week event, a grand event that attracted fashion leaders from across the world. Egyptian journalists, Mirna Abdulaal and Farah Sadek, poise that Egypt would not have been able to host such a grand event if it weren’t for its burgeoning market, which witnessed significant growth over the years. According to the Apparel Export Council of Egypt, the country’s fashion exports rose by 41 percent in 2021 to $2.49 billion. 

This demand is perhaps why Egypt is  home to several fashion tech startups that are using technology to help designers and manufacturers connect with customers and make African fashion more accessible. According to StartupList Africa, the country has the most fashion tech startups, with 11 operational fashiontech startups. One of these platforms Gahez, connects local fashion designers and manufacturers with customers. Another, La Reina, allows Egyptian women to rent designer outfits for special occasions.

Both countries growth in represents the diversity and dynamism of the African fashion space. Egypt’s economy is currently Africa’s second-largest with $363.1 billion in nominal GDP, right behind Nigeria’s $432 billion. Both countries have a growing young population with an increasing disposable income. Meanwhile, both countries are just a few of the fashion hubs of Africa. From Dakar to Ethiopia, Africa’s fashion industry is poised for a global takeover. 

AUTHOR

Suotunimi Orufa

DIRECT LINK

 

Jeddah's Ukraine Peace Summit

Though the Jeddah Ukraine Peace Summit may not have started peace negotiations or yielded a draft on how to end the war, it was successful from many other perspectives.

Delegates from 42 countries participated in the two-day Summit. It was the second of its kind after similar deliberation took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier this summer. A difference to note is that Denmark is pro Ukraine while Saudi Arabia is considered politically neutral on the issue, so having the Summit in Saudi Arabia is distinct from this respect.

The delegations comprised, amongst many other countries reps, allies to Ukraine such as the US, Canada, and the European Union, and neutral countries such India and China that remain on the fence.

Ukraine knew there would be limitations to what it would gain from the summit. It had also expected tension even altercations, though none occurred. “I expect that the conversation will be difficult, but behind us is truth, behind us — goodness,” Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky’s key envoy for the talks.

One goal for Ukraine was to get support from countries that have remained neutral to the war. To have Saudi Arabia and BRICS members, such as India, Brazil, South Africa, and China deliberate with the staunch Ukraine allies, and to have the delegates speak and garner support for Ukraine’s peace plans was an opportunity like no other.

In fact, all attending delegations backed Ukraine’s independence and territorial rights, and the only peace plan discussed was the one presented by Ukraine. This, too, is yet another achievement for Ukraine.

Also, to have the Summit take place in Saudi Arabia goes against Russia’s rhetoric that Ukraine is supported only by the West, and none other than the West cares about the war. The number of delegates descending on Jeddah from all over the world affirms that this war is affecting everyone around the globe, and all countries are pursuing all means to end it.  

Zelensky utilized the Summit to speak to developing countries hit hard by the war and to have them listen to his call for peace and how it would benefit them. “…on issues such as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world moves to implement the peace formula,” he said.

That Russia was not invited to attend has its pros and cons. Without Russia nothing substantial would have materialized, but with Russia chances are many of Ukraine’s allies would not have attended, so Saudi Arabia opted for the second option knowing that it would yield some progress if not all.

Ukraine says that it was a “huge blow” for Russia not to be invited; this may be a correct statement, but it also meant that the Summit would come up with restricted resolutions.  Celso Amorim, the head of Brazil's delegation, stressed that "any real negotiation must include all parties." He also said, "Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form."

The host, Saudi Arabia, via the Summit, emphasized its global presence and the role it wants to play, that of global mediator and peace broker. As the Kingdom repairs ties with adversaries, it seeks a more fundamental global role with all existing powers.

And Saudi Arabia can become a dominant geopolitical player. According to Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid of Alarabiya, “Today, it [Saudi Arabia] stands in the middle. Most of its oil is sold to China, but it is also one of the biggest trade partners with the US in the Middle East. It maintains good relations with Putin as well as Zelensky.” Last fall, Saudi Arabia played a prominent role in releasing western mercenaries captured by Russian forces.

Just by being present, China managed to add clout to the Summit. The Canadian Globe and Mails says, “The biggest diplomatic prize would be endorsement from China, which has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia and so far, rejected internationals calls to condemn the invasion.”

Many doubted China’s attendance because of these ties with Russia, but China may have been there to counterbalance the views of the majority. According to Charles Kupchan of the Council of Foreign Relations, a think tank, “China has an important role to play here, mainly because if anybody has influence over Putin, it is Xi Jinping. We will need China to lean on Moscow at the appropriate moment."

China also hopes to play a prominent role worldwide and become a broker of peace. A few months back, China brokered a deal by which the resumption of ties between Saudi Arabis and Iran took place. This agreement was highly unthinkable a few years back and provides tranquility across the Middle East and may ultimately end the war in Yemen.

China had been invited to the Copenhagen talks but did not attend. This time round, China attended, and backs further talks on the issue. According to The Guardian, China “participated actively and was positive about idea of a third meeting at this level.” While Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said in a statement that: “China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine.”

For 42 countries to gather in Jeddah to discuss an end to the Ukraine war is a step in the right direction. Discussions and deliberations are vital because, hopefully, they will manufacture a consensus at the end and shift the paradigm from the battlefield to the negotiating table.

The Jeddah Summit may have shortened the distance between the rivals somewhat. As a follow up, another meeting will take place in approximately six weeks.

 

The Steven Cook trap

Al Ahram Weekly

Abdel-Moneim Said, Tuesday 22 Aug 2023

Abdel-Moneim Said takes the long view

On 23 January 2014, I wrote an article in Al-Ahram Weekly titled “The sin of Steven Cook”, referring to one of a group of US think tank researchers who spent an inordinate amount of effort criticising the 30 June Revolution and its aftermath. They have not changed a bit, even though the world, the Middle East, Egypt, and even the US have changed tremendously in the past decade.

Steven Cook and his colleagues share a black-and-white view of the world. Countries are either democratic or authoritarian. In the former you find material and moral good; in the latter, only intellectual and moral decay and destruction. American foreign policy today is grounded in this outlook, which is instrumental in the current global crisis. It is a world view formulated by people with no knowledge of world history, how countries have evolved, or how the US itself has developed since the American Revolution and Civil War.

When it comes to Egypt, those people espouse another premise with consummate certainty. They hold that, as long as Egypt keeps the Muslim Brotherhood out of power, it will head to the abyss. In a recent Foreign Policy article titled “How Sisi Ruined Egypt”, Cook supplies a bundle of facts and figures about the state of the Egyptian economy: inflation rates, currency exchange rates, national debt and its ratio to GDP, etc. He then scoffs at the Egyptian development process and concludes with a stab at what he claims is Egypt’s declining regional influence, evidence of which is to be found in its handling of the current Sudan crisis. Of course, he fails to mention the huge success the US has had in keeping that crisis under control.

The main problem with surgical precision selectivity when speaking about the economic crisis in Egypt is omission. It omits mention, for example, that Egypt has never failed to pay its debts. It is blind to how the country’s inhabited area has doubled during the past decade from seven per cent in 2010 to 15 per cent this year. In that same period, Egypt never recorded negative growth. Economic growth has consistently surpassed the rate of population growth even during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can see this on Google Maps, in the 7,000 km expansion in the road and transportation network, which is more than the total length of this network since the beginning of the 21st century. The US Foreign Affairs Council member would have to exert great research efforts to learn that everything related to Egyptian infrastructure, from electricity, transport and potable water to seaports and airports, schools and universities, has doubled in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, debts were covered by assets. That is why there has been no economic collapse and no rush on the banks in a country whose population increased by 20 million during that period.

The most important development that occurred in Egypt is the unprecedented shift in population concentration from the Nile Valley to the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts and Sinai (the Suez Canal zone and Aqaba). Nothing like it has happened since Khedive Ismail built the Suez Canal and founded its three cities. President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has founded 24 cities and built six giant tunnels linking the Nile Valley with Sinai. Inroads of a similar magnitude were accomplished vertically with linkage between the Toshka project in Upper Egypt with land reclamation and the development of the New Delta to the south of New Alamein on the Mediterranean. As a result, the area under cultivation in Egypt will have increased by 50 per cent by 2025.  Many of these projects had been proposed and studied under president Hosni Mubarak. That they have been implemented in the space of a decade testifies to the government’s perseverance and ability to get things done. Bear in mind that this agricultural expansion required major desalinisation and water recycling work at a time the country was dealing with three successive crises: terrorism, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.

On the one hand, the New Administrative Capital is meant to connect with Cairo’s eastward expansion, with such satellite cities as New Cairo, Rihab, Madinaty, Badr, Shorouk, and New Heliopolis. On the other hand, it would be impossible for Cairo, with its 22 million people, to survive without a new and modern capital, free of random urban development. The US research makes no mention of the fact that the new capital proved to have positive repercussions for what is known as “historic Cairo”. Restoration works in Fustat, Fatimid, and Ayoubid Cairo, the later Ottoman, and Khedival quarters has boomed. Never have so many cultural centres, museums, and theatres opened their doors. At the same time, some two million modern, fully equipped housing units were built for inhabitants of the poorer “slum” areas, and they are complemented with health and educational facilities. Cook might also find it edifying to learn that rural Egypt is experiencing the largest ever modernisation process, with 5,000 villages under development in the framework of the Decent Life initiative.

This is all a far cry from the decay and destruction he would like to portray. This is the reconstruction of an ancient state. Perhaps if Cook understood the virtue of comparison with the debts and economic straits that weigh on all countries, he would be better able to understand Egypt’s current condition in a global context. He was clearly disappointed in the past when the Egyptian government was not defeated. He will be in for another disappointment when Egypt and the rest of the world emerge from the global crisis by 2030, the target date of Egypt’s 15-year comprehensive development plan.

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* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 August, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

 

قمة جدة للسلام في أوكرانيا

 

الأثنين 4 من صفر 1445 هــ 21 أغسطس 2023 السنة 148 العدد 49931

د. عزة رضوان صدقى

على الرغم من أن قمة جدة للسلام فى أوكرانيا ربما لم تسفر عن حلول نهائية أو عن مسودة حول كيفية إنهاء الحرب، فإنها كانت ناجحة من وجهات نظر عديدة

شارك مندوبون من ٤٢ دولة فى القمة التى استمرت يومين. كان هذا هو ثانية المداولات، أولاها تمت فى الدنمارك، فى وقت سابق من هذا الصيف. هناك اختلاف يجب ملاحظته هو أن الدنمارك مؤيدة لأوكرانيا، بينما تعتبر المملكة العربية السعودية محايدة سياسياً بشأن هذه القضية، لذا فإن عقد القمة فى المملكة العربية السعودية يختلف فى أهميته

ضمت الوفود حلفاء لأوكرانيا مثل الولايات المتحدة وكندا والاتحاد الأوروبى، ودولًا محايدة مثل الهند والصين التى لا تزال على الحياد والعديد من البلدان الأخرى. أدركت أوكرانيا أن اختلافات هذه الجموع قد تحدُّ من نتائج القمة وتوقعت توترًا أو حتى مشاجرات خلال المباحثات، ولكنها لم تحدث. وقال مبعوث الرئيس زيلينسكى للمباحثات: أتوقع أن تكون المحادثات صعبة، ولكن وراءنا الحقيقة وراءنا - الخير

استهدفت أوكرانيا الدعم من الدول التى ظلت محايدة للحرب. وجود المملكة العربية السعودية وأعضاء بريكس، مثل الهند والبرازيل وجنوب أفريقيا والصين، على نفس طاولة التداول مع حلفاء أوكرانيا المخلصين للتشاور كان بمثابة فرصة دون شك. وأيدت جميع الوفود الحاضرة استقلال أوكرانيا وحقوقها الإقليمية، وكانت خطة السلام الوحيدة التى تمت مناقشتها هى تلك التى قدمتها أوكرانيا. هذا، أيضًا، إنجاز آخر حققته لأوكرانيا

كان عقد القمة فى المملكة العربية السعودية مفيدًا أيضًا لأوكرانيا. إنه يتعارض مع الخطاب الروسى القائل إن أوكرانيا لا يدعمها إلا الغرب. يؤكد عدد المندوبين الذين وجدوا فى جدة من جميع أنحاء العالم هذه النقطة. أيضًا، جعل زيلينسكى البلدان النامية التى تضررت بشدة من الحرب تستمع إلى دعوته للسلام قائلًا:... فيما يتعلق بقضايا مثل الأمن الغذائى، فإن مصير ملايين الأشخاص فى أفريقيا وآسيا وأجزاء أخرى من العالم يعتمد بشكل مباشر على مدى سرعة تحرك العالم لتحقيق السلام

لم تتم دعوة روسيا للحضور لأن وجود روسيا كان قد يمنع حلفاء أوكرانيا من الحضور،إلا ان عدم وجود روسيا قيّد نتائج القمة. اختارت المملكة العربية السعودية الخيار الثانى ليحقق بعض التقدم إن لم يكن كله. وأكد سيلسو أموريم، رئيس الوفد البرازيلى، أن أى مفاوضات حقيقية يجب أن تشمل جميع الأطراف. وقال أيضًا: على الرغم من أن أوكرانيا هى الضحية الأكبر، إذا كنا نريد السلام حقًا، فعلينا إشراك موسكو فى هذه العملية بشكل ما

وأكدت الدولة المضيفة، السعودية، عبر القمة، حضورها العالمى ودورها كوسيط سلام. بينما تعمل المملكة على تجاوز الخصومات وإصلاح العلاقات فإنها تسعى إلى دور عالمى فعّال. والمملكة العربية السعودية لها القدرة على أن تصبح لاعباً جيوسياسياً مهيمناً بالتأكيد. وبحسب عبدالرحمن الرشيد من العربية، اليوم، تقف المملكة العربية السعودية فى المنتصف. يُباع معظم نفطها إلى الصين، لكنها أيضًا واحدة من أكبر الشركاء التجاريين للولايات المتحدة فى الشرق الأوسط. وإنها تحافظ على علاقات جيدة مع بوتين وكذلك زيلينسكى. كما لعبت السعودية، الخريف الماضى، دورًا بارزًا فى إطلاق سراح المرتزقة الغربيين الذين أسرتهم القوات الروسية.

شكك الكثيرون فى حضور الصين بسبب استمرار علاقاتها الاقتصادية والدبلوماسية الوثيقة مع روسيا ورفضها إدانة الغزو الروسى على أوكرانيا، لذا حضورها كان مؤثرا للغاية. ربما كان وجودها لتقديم وجهة النظر الروسية فى الأمور. ووفقًا لتشارلز كوبتشان من مركز أبحاث مجلس العلاقات الخارجية: للصين دور مهم قد تلعبه الآن، ويرجع ذلك أساسًا إلى أنه إذا كان لدى أى شخص تأثير على بوتين، فهو الرئيس الصينى. سنحتاج من الصين أن تقنع موسكو فى الوقت المناسب. كما تأمل الصين أن تصبح وسيطًا للسلام، وقبل بضعة أشهر توسطت الصين فى اتفاق تم بموجبه استئناف العلاقات بين السعودية وإيرا

وكانت الصين قد دُعيت إلى محادثات كوبنهاجن لكنها لم تحضر. هذه المرة، قبلت الدعوة وأيدت إجراء مزيدٍ من المحادثات حول القضية، وقال المتحدث باسم الوزارة الصينية إن: الصين مستعدة للعمل مع المجتمع الدولى لمواصلة لعب دور بناء فى تعزيز حل سياسى للأزمة فى أوكرانيا

إن اجتماع ٤٢ دولة فى جدة لمناقشة إنهاء الحرب الأوكرانية هو خطوة فى الاتجاه الصحيح. المناقشات والمداولات مهمة وفعّالة لأنها ستصنع إجماعًا فى النهاية، وتحول النموذج من ساحة المعركة إلى طاولة المفاوضات

ربما تكون قمة جدة قد اختصرت المسافة بين المتنافسين إلى حد ما. وعلى سبيل المتابعة، سيعقد اجتماع آخر فى غضون ستة أسابيع تقريبًا

لمزيد من مقالات د. عزة رضوان صدقى

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مخاطر الذكاء الاصطناعي

الأثنين 20 من محرم 1445 هــ 7 أغسطس 2023 السنة 147 العدد 49917

عزة رضوان صدقى

فى عام ٢٠١٨، عندما أجرى الإعلامى المميز أسامة كمال مقابلة تليفزيونية مع صوفيا، الروبوت التى كانت فى زيارة لمصر، أصيب الجميع بالدهشة والقلق معا. سيكونون أكثر حيرة اليوم إذا أدركوا المدى الذى وصلت إليه صناعة الروبوتات، عبر الذكاء الاصطناعى

يتطور الذكاء الاصطناعى بوتيرة سريعة ليجنى فوائد هائلة، لكنه وفقًا لرواده ينطوى على أخطار وجودية. الذكاء الاصطناعى تقنية رائدة من صنع الإنسان تحاكى الذكاء البشرى عبر آلات مثل أجهزة الكمبيوتر والهواتف الذكية. تتناول تطبيقات الذكاء الاصطناعى جميع مجالات الحياة: فى محركات البحث مثل جوجل وتقنية المساعد الشخصى مثل سيرى واليكسا والسيارات الذاتية القيادة واستخدامات الهواتف الذكية والبريد الإلكترونى ووسائل التواصل الاجتماعى. هذه مجرد أمثلة قليلة على كم التغيير الذى أوجبه الذكاء الاصطناعى لحياتنا

الذكاء الاصطناعى يمكنه كتابة مقالات وعمل إحصائيات وترجمة الأعمال لجميع اللغات ثم بناء آلات متطورة وتحسين أداء الشركات. أمثلة أخرى تكشف مدى وجود الذكاء الاصطناعى فى المجال الطبى،مثلا فى التشخيص المبكر للأمراض وتفادى التأثيرات المحتملة للأدوية الجديدة دون تعريض المرضى للخطر وتحليل الأشعة المقطعية والتصوير بالرنين المغناطيسى التى قد لا يراها إخصائى الأشعة. والذكاء الاصطناعى سمح لرجل مشلول بالسير بربط عقله بعضلاته. كما استخدم العالم الشهير ستيفن هوكينج الذكاء الاصطناعى للتواصل والتحدُّث على الرغم من مرضه العضال

ومع ذلك، فإن مخاوف الذكاء الاصطناعى حقيقية. أولاً، يشعر العمال والموظفون فى جميع أنحاء العالم بالقلق من أن وظائفهم قد تختفى لأن الروبوتات قد تحل محلهم بسبب قدرتها على أداء أى مهمة. تقوم الروبوتات بتنفيذ المهام البشرية بفاعلية فى أى مكان عمل دون الملل أو التعب أو الحاجة إلى فترات راحة. بكل إنصاف، فإن قدراتهم يمكن أن تجعل البشر زيادة عدد

فأهم من ذلك، أن الذكاء الاصطناعى قد يشكل تهديدًا للبشرية، لأن التقنيين فى هذا المجال قلقون من أن تطبيقات الذكاء الاصطناعى قد تتفوق على البشر وتتجاوز صانعيها ودعوا إلى تباطؤ تطوير الذكاء الاصطناعى. قال إيلون ماسك، رئيس تسلا ومالك جوجل إن الذكاء الاصطناعى يمثل أكبر المخاطر على الحضارة. كما غادر العالم جيفرى هينتون شركة جوجل عندما أدرك أن أخطار الذكاء الاصطناعى قد تفوق مزاياه، وحذر إريك شميدت الرئيس التنفيذى السابق لشركة جوجل من أن الذكاء الاصطناعى قد يشكل أخطارًا وجودية

من المحتمل جدًا أن يتفوق الذكاء الاصطناعى فى يوم من الأيام على البشر، وهذا أمر مرعب. نشر باحثون فى جامعة كورنيل ورقة بحثية تسلط الضوء على أمثلة تفوق فيها الذكاء الاصطناعى على البشر. فى أحد الأمثلة، تم تحدى إنسان آلى لكى يمشى دون أن تلمس أقدامه الأرض، وهو إنجاز مستحيل بشريًا بكل المقاييس. والمثير للدهشة أن الروبوت قلب نفسه على ظهره، ثم شرع فى المشى على كيعانه، وأقدامه تطفو فوق رأسه، مما يثبت أن الانسان الآلى يستطيع التفكير ثم التنفيذ بشكل مختلف عن الإنسان

أسئلة كثيرة تنتاب الإنسان: هل نتمادى فى تطوير الذكاء الاصطناعى على الرغم من القلق المصاحب لهذا الأمر؟ وكيف يمكن للعالم أن يداوم فى الاستفادة من الذكاء الاصطناعى دون المخاطرة بأضرار وجودية؟ وهل نستمر فى تطوير عقول غير بشرية قد تفوقنا يوما ما فى الذكاء وتحل محلنا؟ وهل نجازف بفقدان السيطرة على حضارتنا؟

حتى لا تحدث الكوارث غدًا يجب التحكم فى الذكاء الاصطناعى اليوم. يجب أن يتأكد العلماء، من خلال المراقبة والإشراف والقيود والتنظيم من عدم إساءة استخدام التكنولوجيا. إنه السبيل الوحيد للخروج من هذه الكارثة

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