Dubai: In-person conferences were brought back in as the 40th edition of GITEX Technology Week, the only major technology event to go live in 2020, saw artificial intelligence and cybersecurity experts interpreting on issues including the ethical governance and associated bias with AI.
The first day of the GITEX Technology Week highlighted the ‘Safest Cyberspace in the World’ initiative by the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC). The importance of AI ‘resilience’ during the pandemic was discussed by H.E. Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government.
Organizations are compelled to look ahead and build resilient systems and processes to better withstand future pandemics due to not only challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also traditional cyber threats. At GISEC, the region’s leading cybersecurity conference, hosted under GITEX, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government, discussed the cyber threat landscape, UAE’s preparedness, and efforts in leveraging AI to build a more resilient post-pandemic world.
The Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) discussed the ‘Safest Cyberspace in the World’ initiative at GISEC 2020, the region’s leading cybersecurity event, hosted under the GITEX umbrella at Dubai World Trade Centre, with the aim of positioning Dubai as an international role model for cybersecurity. Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, Founding Member of Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) and Artificial Intelligence Ethical Committee, Director, Information Services, DESC, explained the goal of protecting Dubai from cybersecurity risks and support the emirate’s economic growth through the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy. The Dubai Cyber Index was launched in July to promote healthy competition among government entities in the field of cybersecurity and encourage the development of capabilities and excellence in this area.
Dr. Seth Dobrin, Chief Data Officer IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software, Vice President and Chief Data Officer, IBM Analytics, IBM, was joined by H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director-General, Smart Dubai & CEO, Dubai Data Establishment, to discuss the issue of AI when algorithms fed into computers and systems are trained on faulty, biased data thereby making mistakes, negatively impacting and influencing human experiences and decision-making. Dr. Dobrin has generated value across a range of industries by applying data and AI ethically throughout his career. He is currently responsible for the digital transformation of cloud and cognitive software operations using data and analytics.
H.E. Younus Al Nasser said that transparency and a need to explain how data is being used to build trust and widespread implementation. He further said that we need to explain to people what AI does to make Dubai the happiest city in the world.
Dr. Juergen Rahmel, Chief Digital Officer, AI & ML Advisor, HSBC, discussed why the full potential of AI can only be realized within a framework that supports trust and operates in a scope that benefits each stakeholder. He said that AI has tremendous potential but can be useful only if it is harnessed in the right ways. AI systems aligned with the existing ethical corporate standards need to be set up and should be placed within a framework ensuring human accountability and full transparency.
