ABU DHABI: Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi hosted a thought-provoking exchange on Sunday as Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor Mo Amer joined Egyptian technologist and author Mo Gawdat for a panel titled “The Power of Personal Narratives in the Age of AI” at the annual Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries.
Over the course of the discussion, Gawdat — Google X’s former chief business officer and a prominent voice on artificial intelligence — warned of the rapid pace of technological change. “AI is already smarter than us in everything,” he said, adding that society faces a choice: use these tools to improve life or allow them to fuel greed, war, and control.
While he acknowledged AI’s transformative potential, Gawdat insisted that “it will never create a comedian,” because true comedy requires a uniquely human spark.
Amer responded with his trademark humor and touching perspective. Born in Kuwait and raised in the US, he recalled discovering stand-up in Houston and realizing immediately “this was it” because of the raw storytelling the art form allows.
“Comedy is the greatest art,” he told the audience, emphasizing that every comedian offers a different truth and connection. Amer reflected on his own journey to representation on platforms such as Netflix, hoping young viewers can see themselves in his story and feel empowered to tell their own.
The conversation moved fluidly between technology, faith, and creativity. Gawdat mused on whether AI could ever possess a “spark of spirit,” while Amer countered that humanity’s heart and soul cannot be replicated by machines.
When asked if he is scared that he could be replaced by AI, Amer said: “I’m not scared of AI because AI can never be me. A joke written by me, delivered by someone else, will never be the same. That’s happened to me before where I go up on stage and be like, ‘Let me show you how the joke is done.’ The joke kills and everyone’s laughing and they go, ‘Oh, it’s the person who is delivering the joke, who is the author of the joke, who really lands it.’”
