DUBAI: A measure of national progress measured by cognitive potential was proposed by CEO of Dubai Future Foundation Khalfan Belhoul at the Dubai Future Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
“What if a nation’s most valuable asset is the focused and interconnected minds of people?” he said kicking off the two day summit.
“National cognitive potential is a measure of national progress by looking at cognitive potential. A new way to understand value in an AI age,” he said.
Belhoul said he predicts the shifts will be in regards to cognitive thinking skills, extracting information and human connection.
“Focus is not about productivity only but it's about thinking deeply. How do we protect deep focus and make it visible so that it's valuable?” said Belhoul.
Belhoul said with the overwhelming access to information that we are getting from generative AI, in the future, everyone and no one will be an expert.
“The future expert is not the one with the most access to information but it will be the one who can extract the most from it,” he explained.
With generative AI becoming a substitute to human connection and relationships, people are relying on these technologies for comfort and it's changing the way humans connect, explained Belhoul.
“AI is changing what a best friend means. How will we redefine human communication, especially when feeling misunderstood can be resolved within seconds,” he said.
Referring to last year’s summit, Belhoul highlighted seven areas in which experts expected humans would likely make progress.
This includes the world moving away from looking at gross domestic product as a measure of a country’s value, doubling energy sourced from the sun, humans returning to the moon, and a genome bank with 1 million samples.
Other areas include 1 million students learning outside of school, the first computer chip implanted in the brain of a healthy person, and the first AI board member of a Fortune 500 company.
Belhoul said three of those forecasts have come true including moving beyond GDP, doubling our energy sourced from the sun, and a clear change in education delivery methods globally.
The other forecasts were on track. “The moon mission is growing, but we are not there yet. Our first mission is scheduled for February 2026,” he said.
“Genome bank is not there yet, but we are close. India, UK and UAE are leading with big number samples and we are set to reach that goal soon,” added Belhoul.
As for implanting the first computer chip in the brain of a healthy person and having an AI board member at a Fortune 500 company, Belhoul said studies were advancing and humanity was getting closer to achieving these goals.
