Generative AI should not be feared despite risks, says UAE minister of artificial intelligence

UAE’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence Omar AlOlama acknowledged concerns associated with AI but said this is not a reason to be scared. (ANN photo)
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Updated 13 October 2023
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Generative AI should not be feared despite risks, says UAE minister of artificial intelligence

  • Omar Al-Olama urges people to channel anxiety over job losses into empowerment and promoting change

DUBAI: UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence Omar Al-Olama has acknowledged concerns with AI, but said this is no reason to be scared of the technology.

Speaking at the Dubai Assembly for Generative AI on Wednesday, Al-Olama said: “While governments and societies must openly address concerns around AI, fear should not dominate the discussion.”

He urged people not to be driven by the threat of job losses, but to channel their anxiety into empowerment and promoting change.

Costi Perricos, global generative AI leader at Deloitte, told the assembly that the technology that can produce a wide range of outputs depending on the specific application and type of data needed.

Perricos highlighted risks associated with the technology, which can be used to spread misinformation and fabricate reality.

He recalled a 2023 incident in which AI-generated images of former US President Donald Trump supposedly being arrested circulated on the internet, fooling many news agencies.

Incidents such as this highlight the “need for a human to be involved to ensure accuracy.”

Perricos also discussed ethical issues and privacy concerns with AI, but said the technology is “an important tool” that people should utilize in order to become more efficient in their personal and professional lives.


Flash floods kill 21 in Moroccan coastal town

Updated 15 December 2025
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Flash floods kill 21 in Moroccan coastal town

RABAT: Flash-flooding caused by sudden, heavy rain killed at least 21 people in the Moroccan coastal town of Safi on Sunday, local authorities said.
Images on social media showed a torrent of muddy water sweeping cars and rubbish bins from the streets in Safi, which sits around 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat.
At least 70 homes and businesses in the historic old city were flooded, authorities said.
Another 32 people were injured and taken to hospital, but most of them have been discharged.

Damage to roads cut off traffic along several routes to and from the port city on the Atlantic coast.
“It’s a black day,” resident Hamza Chdouani told AFP.
By evening, the water level had receded, leaving people to pick through a mud-sodden landscape to salvage belongings.
Another resident, Marouane Tamer, questioned why government trucks had not been dispatched to pump out the water.
As teams searched for other possible casualties, the weather service forecast more heavy rain on Tuesday across the country.
Severe weather and flooding are not uncommon in Morocco, which is struggling with a severe drought for the seventh consecutive year.
The General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) said 2024 was Morocco’s hottest year on record, while registering an average rainfall deficit of -24.7 percent.
Moroccan autumns are typically marked by a gradual drop in temperatures, but climate change has affected weather patterns and made storms more intense because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer seas can turbocharge the systems.