How artificial intelligence is being used in education, art and autonomous vehicles in Qatar
As technology continues to evolve, Qatar 365 takes a look at how artificial intelligence is being used in the classroom and on the roads. We also meet world renowned NFT artist Amrita Sethi, who explains how non-fungible tokens have revolutionised and democratised art.
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00:00AI, we all recognize this as a pivot moment, although we don't know exactly how, and the
00:06landscape is changing very, very quickly.
00:08We are testing our autonomous vehicles readiness at autonomous level four, just to ensure that
00:14someone can take action in case of any emergency.
00:21Hello and welcome to Qatar 365.
00:24I'm Laila Humaira, and on this episode, we talk about all things tech and innovation,
00:30from blockchain-powered art to taking a ride on autonomous vehicles.
00:35But first, we explore how artificial intelligence is being used in education.
00:41Adel Halim visited three universities in Doha's education city to see how AI-powered tools
00:48are being used to create new ways to connect with students.
00:53In Doha's education city, a hot topic on university campuses is what role does and
00:59should artificial intelligence play in education.
01:03The presence of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, which can instantly generate essays and term
01:08papers for students, has worried some educators.
01:12But others, like Georgetown University and Qatar's Dr. Jamie Olson, take a more philosophical
01:17approach.
01:18It's a partnership between faculty and students.
01:21If you approach things from a policing lens, you actually can fray that relationship.
01:28It creates tensions that don't need to be there.
01:30It creates a culture of suspicion.
01:32What works is if we can convince you that your education is valuable and that what we're
01:38asking you to do will contribute to your education.
01:41Meanwhile, similar conversations are taking place nearby on the Carnegie Mellon University
01:46campus.
01:47Khalid Harris says classic AI has been around for decades, largely statistical-based.
01:53More recently, generative AI has grown exponentially.
01:57But one of the concerns with generative AI is how to fact-check what it produces.
02:05It is a major problem.
02:06You don't know the quality of what is coming out of these AI tools.
02:10Sometimes – and it's a whole field also in our world called explainable AI – sometimes
02:14you don't even know the details of how or why the algorithms that were built have led
02:19to this kind of output, which is not great, because you need to be able to verify, understand
02:24and justify how this is working.
02:26But that's the fun part, right?
02:28That's the part where we have an opportunity to kind of work on these problems and address
02:31them.
02:32And that is what is happening right now.
02:33Until then, until we find good solutions, we're going to have to deal with it.
02:37We need to take everything that we're getting out of this with a grain of salt.
02:40This sentiment is echoed in the hallways of Northwestern University in Qatar's campus.
02:45Dean Marwan Kraidi says schools must teach students to critically differentiate truths
02:51from falsehoods.
02:52So, critical thinking.
02:53How do you establish connections between things that you think are separate?
02:58Processes of authentication.
02:59How can you authenticate something to be true or not?
03:04That's the job of education.
03:05AI is a priority for us because we are a school of media.
03:09So we teach journalism, communication, filmmaking.
03:12These are fields where, historically, technology changes the field very quickly.
03:17So we are very well-equipped to deal with AI.
03:20Second-year communications major Ramazan Zet-Pesbayev says AI allows him to work faster and more
03:25efficiently.
03:26I'm very excited about it because AI, for me personally, is a game-changer.
03:31Simply, I can just put it in the prompt and get results what I want.
03:35As AI becomes increasingly more prevalent in education, Northwestern University in Qatar
03:41has produced the country's first-ever major metaverse exhibition.
03:45With so many unanswered questions about the virtual world, the museum's interactive
03:49exhibition encourages students to discuss the opportunities and challenges in a constantly
03:53changing digital media landscape.
03:56The Media Muchlist at Northwestern is a museum at the intersection of art, media, and technology,
04:02the first of its kind in the Arab world.
04:05Its most recent exhibition, Meta What?, explored the concept of the metaverse.
04:10The idea of the metaverse is something that you immerse yourself with your mind or with
04:14your body.
04:15For me, the earliest version of the metaverse, this other word, is actually the novel book.
04:21You open a book, it's a novel, we immerse ourselves in the book, we read it, we imagine
04:25character, spaces, situations, and that was a form of metaverse.
04:30And so the metaverse, you can argue, has always been with us.
04:34We just changed the format.
04:35Back at Georgetown, Dr. Olson agrees AI is a game-changer, but also warns just as it
04:41takes its cues from humans, it's also susceptible to human error.
04:46AI is only ever going to be as good as the programmers and the engineers, those that
04:51are designing it.
04:52So we build in and we train AI on a lot of our own biases and flaws as humans.
04:58Bettering the lives of people is one noble application of artificial intelligence.
05:05But at the crossroads of where tech, innovation, and design meet, there exists one unique digital
05:11art form powered by blockchain and sustained by investments.
05:16They're called NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are distinctive cryptographic tokens
05:22that cannot be replicated.
05:24Well, I'm here at Fast Company Middle East's Innovation by Design Summit at Mesherab,
05:29downtown Doha, to meet Amrita Sethi, an acclaimed NFT artist, to find out once and for all if
05:36NFTs are a lasting trend or just a fad.
05:42Hi, Amrita, thank you so much for being with us today.
05:46Now, NFTs first came into the spotlight 10 years ago, but for those who still don't
05:51quite get the concept of NFTs, can you tell us what it is exactly?
05:56It just allows you to take a digital asset, which normally we can reproduce thousands
06:01of times, like just even think about like, you know, a photo, right?
06:05But how do we know which is that original photo?
06:09So being able to imagine you, you've got like a physical photo and you've got, somebody's
06:14going to put a stamp on the back of it to say that was the very first photo that was
06:18taken.
06:20And that's kind of what happens is with the blockchain technology.
06:23And you've said before that NFTs democratizes art.
06:27Can you explain what you meant by that?
06:29With NFTs, what happens is as the artist, you are able to, you know, create your artwork,
06:36put it online.
06:37You're not just restricted to the geographic region of where you are.
06:41You don't need to have a gallery space, you know, don't need to invest in a lot of that
06:46money.
06:47You're able to take your art and put it up on the internet where there are billions of
06:50people have access to it.
06:52And you're able to create your collectors and your communities.
06:56What role do you think NFTs play in design and how else can it disrupt or revolutionize
07:01the art world?
07:02So for me, I always say that my biggest aim and the legacy that I want to leave is really,
07:08I want to inspire change through art and technology.
07:12How is the new technology is going to change it?
07:14But you have to do it in a way that educates people.
07:18So in a way, I call it art edutainment.
07:21So I create art in a way that's entertaining, but educational.
07:25I use them as tool brushes to showcase the new technology so it doesn't become overwhelming.
07:34Our journey of exploring the ways artificial intelligence and technology have revolutionized
07:40how we study and create art brings us now to how we travel.
07:45Technology has made the energy transition more robust than ever, especially in the auto
07:51industry.
07:52Here in Qatar, the government has revved up efforts to not only fully electrify its transportation
07:58infrastructure, it's also increasingly tapping on AI to drive the ecosystem.
08:04And I'm here at Mawasalat's electric bus depot in Lusail to go behind the wheel for
08:10an exclusive look.
08:14It's small, but don't let its cute looks fool you.
08:18This compact vehicle is not only all electric, it's also driverless and is powered by artificial
08:24intelligence.
08:26This is Mawasalat's autonomous bus.
08:29Now we're here in front of these small but incredible autonomous electric buses.
08:34Can you give us the latest update about the development of these autonomous buses and
08:38how close are you to rolling them out to the public?
08:40We are testing our autonomous vehicles' readiness at autonomous level 4, just to ensure that
08:47someone can take action in case of any emergency.
08:50The last test we did was in Lusail City, where we really tested the autonomous vehicle readiness
08:55for public transportation and public interaction within the vehicle.
08:59So, let's take a ride on this amazing driverless E-Bus.
09:04Sure, let's go ahead.
09:09Can you just briefly tell us about the features that we're seeing in this bus?
09:13What are the cameras showing and the sensors?
09:16Inside the bus, we have the screens which typically show the passenger's journey, where
09:22they're going from point A to point B.
09:24But the cool thing is the cameras that people don't see, the cameras that are existing outside
09:29of the bus.
09:30There are more than 16 or so cameras which are continuously working for the vehicle's
09:36AI, so it can detect anything that's happening in the street.
09:40Mawasalat's Lusail Bus Depot is capable of supporting 478 E-Buses, just like the ones
09:47behind me.
09:48In 2022, this sprawling site of more than 400,000 square metres earned its place in
09:55the Guinness World Records for being the biggest electric bus depot in the world.
10:00It's from here that hundreds of these E-Buses start their journey every day, serving tens
10:06of thousands of passengers all around Qatar.
10:10But taking public transport up a notch with an autonomous system driving the vehicle poses
10:16a different kind of hurdle.
10:17The high heat during the summertime can interfere with the camera and the sensors and the way
10:23they are processing.
10:25Support from the Ministry of Transport is unwavering.
10:28And when it comes to revolutionizing mobility in Qatar, the two entities are in it for the
10:33long haul.
10:34Today, Qatar has a strategy of electric transformation and also a strategy for autonomous vehicles.
10:46It is a five-year strategy.
10:48They all serve the transformation within a harmony with what is existing today.
10:57This year also marks a milestone for EV brands in Qatar, with more international names rolling
11:03out their latest models.
11:05Our infrastructure that supports the electric vehicles is already expanding.
11:11And within coming years, we are distributing 400 electric vehicle chargers.
11:17Like on the driverless bus, our short ride may be coming to an end, but Qatar's journey
11:22towards an AI-powered, fully electric transportation system is just getting started.
11:31From electric and autonomous vehicles to an AI-powered education system to the future
11:37of art and design, a new era of technology is being embraced right here in Qatar, paving
11:42the way for a tech-driven future.
11:45We hope you've enjoyed this episode, but that's all the time we have for now.
11:48For more, check out euronews.com and connect with us through our hashtag.
11:52Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.