RIYADH: Artificial intelligence should be applied “intelligently,” Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Nugali told the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.
“In this era, AI must be used wisely — after all, artificial intelligence should be applied intelligently,” he said.
“We’re currently living in the age of the AI revolution, where artificial intelligence is being used across all fields, institutions, and even education.”
In a session tackling how new technologies and AI were shaping the news industry, Nugali underlined the importance of utilizing AI in a way that supported and encouraged human learning “rather than relying on it for simple copy-pasting.”
“This also applies to media,” she said. “Many people have concerns about AI tools like ChatGPT or other programs being used to write articles.”
Nugali stressed that while AI could help by providing background information or research, “it will never replace a human journalist in writing a fully developed article backed by evidence and facts.”
In education, Nugali said it was unfortunate that some children were using AI to write essays or research papers and emphasized it should never be used for actual intelligence.
Speaking alongside Nugali were Rashid Al-Hamer, editor of Bahrain’s leading newspaper Al-Ayam, and Hatem Abu Nassif, chairman of the Radio & Television Authority.
Afterwards, Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, spoke on a panel tacking manga and Saudi-led content creation.
He said Saudis were not here to simply watch: “We are here to participate, compete, and excel with our content and culture.”
He added that some 2.88 billion people, around 36 percent of the world’s population, watched anime.
“For years, people assumed that Saudi Arabia was merely a consumer (of anime content). But that has changed,” he said.
“We no longer see manga and anime as something imported from Japan — we see them as an art form through which we create content, share our culture and tell our own stories to the world.”
Bukhary pointed out that Saudi anime series “Future’s Folktales” was broadcast in the Arab world, Japan, North America, Europe and India on eight platforms across five continents, garnering over 85 million views in just three months. An associated mobile game reached half a million downloads in three languages.
He said Saudi Arabia was taking the lead in anime content creation by producing animations, developing video games, and creating comics that shared Saudi stories with the world.
Also speaking on the panel were Yves Blehaut, business development manager for the Middle East and North Africa region at Media-Participations, and Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Japanese production association that produced the “Sally” series.
The fourth Saudi Media Forum has the theme “Media in an Evolving World” and brings together 200 speakers including media professionals, academics, experts and specialists from local and international arenas.
Taking place from Feb. 19-21 it will feature 80 sessions comprising 40 panel discussions and 40 knowledge exchange sessions, serving as an international platform for forecasting and developing the future of media and exploring the latest technologies.
