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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.’”

DUBAI: “Desert Warrior,” an action-thriller feature film set in the 7th century that was shot in ��������, will have its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 28, 2025.

MBC Studios, the production arm of MBC Group, partnered with US-based JB Pictures and AGC Studios to produce “Desert Warrior.”

The movie’s all-star cast is led by Anthony Mackie and Aiysha Hart along with Sharlto Copley, Ghassan Massoud, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Geza Rohrig, and Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley.

British director Rupert Wyatt, known for films such as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Mosquito Coast,” led the screenplay, co-penned with Erica Beeney, David Self, and Academy Award nominee Gary Ross. The movie is produced by JB Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt of “Resident Evil” fame.

“Desert Warrior” was filmed in Neom and Tabuk in �������� in 2021.

The film is set in a land divided by warring tribes. The narrative follows Princess Hind (Hart), who defies Sassanid Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) and escapes into the desert with her father, King Numan (Massoud).

The pair are pursued by mercenaries led by Jalabzeen (Copley) as Hind and her father are forced to rely on a mysterious bandit (Mackie) to avoid capture.

Princess Hind rallies fractured tribes against the might of the Sassanid Empire, culminating in the epic Battle of Ze Qar that reshapes the Arabian Peninsula.

In a statement last year, MBC said it holds “great pride and enthusiasm” for “Desert Warrior. “The amount of hard work, creativity, and passion poured into this project is truly commendable, and it reflects in the quality of the film,” a spokesperson added.

The film joins other productions shot in the Kingdom, including Adil El-Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s action thriller “7 Dogs.”

The $40 million project from the “Bad Boys for Life” team was shot at Al-Hisn Big Time Studios in Riyadh, with additional filming at Riyadh Boulevard. Riyadh is also the stand-in for several international cities, including Mumbai and Shanghai.

Egyptian stars Karim Abdel Aziz (“The Blue Elephant,” “Kira & El Gin,” “Abu Ali”) and Ahmed Ezz (“Kira & El Gin,” “The Cell,” “Welad Rizk”) headline the action film.