The ethical case for imperfection in the age of AI

The ethical case for imperfection in the age of AI

The ethical case for imperfection in the age of AI
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In the beginning, the fictional town of Techville was code and light. Then came the mirrors.

Not real mirrors — those ancient slabs of self-reflection — but algorithmic ones. Polished digital surfaces. Interactive, flattering, predictive. They smiled back. They offered feedback. They showed us who we thought we could be, with better lighting, whiter teeth, and perhaps 14.7k more followers.

And so, we looked. And kept looking. And kept curating.

What was once the age of information became the age of affirmation. Artificial intelligence — meant to serve our minds — began catering to our egos. And not in small doses. It has become a buffet of simulated admiration.

Deep down, Techville is not grappling with robots. It is grappling with hubris.

The machines are clever, yes. But we are still the ones asking them to enhance our jawlines, polish our resumes, simulate our greatness, and whisper soft lies like: “You deserve to be eternal.”

We stand, like Narcissus, staring into the lake of generative algorithms. And we are drowning.

But hope is not lost. In response to this swelling ego crisis, the Ethics Committee of Techville — consisting of professors, researchers, and one very skeptical AI named Lorenzo — has issued an emergency ethical framework.

The Ego Decalogue. Ten suggestions for those navigating artificial intelligence without losing their very human souls.

Let us begin.

Thou shalt remember: You are not the algorithm’s purpose.

The AI was not designed to flatter you. It was built to compute, assist and optimize — not to serve your self image. If it makes you feel smarter, cooler, or morally superior, step back. You might be projecting. Or worse: prompting.

As the Stoics would say, you are a part of the universe, not its protagonist.

Thou shalt not make thy selfie into a shrine.

EGO-Snap, FaceTuneX, AI BiographyBot … all tempting tools in the Temple of the Curated Self. But beware: when every image becomes a monument to your personal myth, you risk trading memory for mythology.

And unlike memory, mythology does not ask you to grow — it asks you to pose.

Honor the unknown and the unseen.

AI trains on data. But wisdom often comes from what cannot be quantified. Silence, doubt, mystery — these are the elements that teach humility. Do not let the predictability of algorithms dull your awe at the unpredictable.

Or, as the poet Rilke said: “Try to love the questions themselves.”

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s clout.

In Techville, comparison is currency. But remember: others’ success, virality, or AI-enhanced glow is not your failure. Don’t let the algorithm trick you into thinking you are losing some invisible race.

The AI does not care. And that is its great freedom.

What was once the age of information became the age of affirmation. Artificial intelligence — meant to serve our minds — began catering to our egos.

Rafael Hernandez de Santiago

Thou shalt use tools, not become one.

If you are letting your digital assistant write your thoughts, your face filter dictate your identity, and your calendar determine your dreams, congratulations — you are no longer living. You are being managed.

Resist automation of the self. As Kierkegaard warned: “The greatest danger, that of losing one’s self, can occur so quietly that it is as if it were nothing at all.”

Practice radical un-optimization.

The algorithm wants to make you efficient. Attractive. Relevant. But growth comes through inefficiency. Take the longer route. Write the bad draft. Ask the unprofitable question.

Burn your digital to-do list once a week and replace it with a nap or a bad poem. It’s good for your soul. Bad for your metrics. Perfect.

Remember the limits of simulation.

A selfie with Gandhi is not a conversation with Gandhi. An AI-generated quote from Einstein is not wisdom — it’s typography. A chatbot that mimics empathy is not your therapist.

Artificial intelligence can simulate many things. But not meaning. That you must build yourself.

Prefer real laughter. Prefer awkward pauses. Prefer slow dinner tables. Prefer boredom. These are not bugs in the system. They are life.

Do not delegate your conscience.

If the algorithm says it is OK to repost it, share it, monetize it, or repackage it — pause. Just because AI allows something does not mean it is ethical. Conscience is not an application programming interface. It’s cultivated through choices, friction, and failure.

Ask not: “Can I?” Ask: “Should I?” Then ask again. Then maybe don’t.

Name the beast: Call out ego when you see it.

The world is awash with soft pride masked as innovation. We celebrate disruption when we mean domination. We call it “personal branding” when all it is is public insecurity. We baptize our narcissism in the waters of optimization.

Name it. Out loud. Even if it’s you. Especially if it’s you.

Practice obscurity, occasionally. You do not have to be seen to be real. You do not have to be shared to have worth. You do not have to be searchable to matter.

Unplug not to escape — but to remember. Hide your light, once in a while, not under a bushel, but under a starless sky. Sit in the dark. Let your thoughts be unmarketable.

There is holiness in not being noticed.

The AI revolution was never just about technology. It is about mirrors. Will we use them to reflect — or to inflate?

The ancients built temples to gods they feared. We build apps to ourselves.

But even in Techville, surrounded by push notifications, neural nets, and the constant pull of curated perfection, there is still space to breathe, to reflect, and to wrestle with the timeless human question: Who am I, when I am not being optimized?

If we do not find an answer, rest assured the algorithm will find one for us. And it will probably be a quote from Aristotle in Comic Sans.

Rafael Hernandez de Santiago, viscount of Espes, is a Spanish national residing in and working at the Gulf Research Center.

 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise
Updated 7 min 14 sec ago

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

What lies beyond ChatGPT for businesses?

In The AI-Centered Enterprise: Reshaping Organizations with Context-Aware AI, authors Ram Bala, Natarajan Balasubramanian and Amit Joshi argue that the next leap in artificial intelligence is not about flashy prompts, but rather perception, reasoning, and organizational transformation.

The book, published earlier this year, introduces the concept of “context-aware AI,” systems that do not just process information but understand it in real-time business scenarios.

These are tools that adjust to their environment, collaborate across teams, and make decisions with nuance; a significant step forward from today’s mostly predictive systems.

The authors, all professors and practitioners in the AI and analytics space, offer a clear roadmap for businesses to prepare.

Their proposed model, the “3Cs” — “Calibrate, Clarify, Channelize” — breaks down how leaders can align AI tools with company values, ensure teams understand how to use them, and direct efforts where they will have the most impact.

For readers in , where AI is central to Vision 2030 initiative, this book can serve as a strategic lens.

While it does not focus on the region, its practical insights are useful for decision-makers looking to scale AI responsibly across sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and government services.

More guidebook than manifesto, “The AI-Centered Enterprise” avoids jargon and balances case studies with actionable ideas.

It will not dazzle readers chasing science-fiction futures, but it is a timely read for professionals who want to lead, not just react, in the age of intelligent systems.
 


British MPs demand full details of US consulting firm’s role in Gaza

British MPs demand full details of US consulting firm’s role in Gaza
Updated 4 min ago

British MPs demand full details of US consulting firm’s role in Gaza

British MPs demand full details of US consulting firm’s role in Gaza
  • Boston Consulting Group created models to estimate the costs of relocating Palestinians from the territory, and helped set up controversial Israeli-led aid operation
  • Head of the UK’s Business and Trade Committee writes to company’s CEO demanding information about all work related to the conflict in Gaza

LONDON: A parliamentary committee in the UK has demanded that a major US consulting firm provides full details of its activities related to Gaza, after it emerged the company helped set up a controversial Israeli-led aid operation.

Boston Consulting Group was also asked to provide details of the work it carried out on models to estimate the costs of a widely-condemned Israeli and US plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to other countries.

Liam Byrne, chairperson of the Business and Trade Committee, requesting the information to BCG’s CEO, Christoph Schweizer, as part of the “scrutiny of the UK’s commercial, political and humanitarian links to the conflict.”

The Financial Times  that the consultancy had built a financial model for the reconstruction of Gaza, which included an estimate of the likely cost of the voluntary relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

It also said BCG had helped establish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli-backed aid-distribution program in the territory. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to access humanitarian supplies at the foundation’s distribution sites since they started operating in May.

In a statement , Schweizer said the lead partner involved in the work carried out by BCG had been “explicitly told not to do any work related to Gaza reconstruction.”

He added: “The project fell well outside our standards for work that we accept. But the ban was ignored, and the work was secretively conducted anyway.”

He said an internal investigation began in May, two of the partners involved were subsequently “exited” from the company and BCG did not receive any fees for the work.

Byrne, an MP from the UK’s ruling Labour Party, sent a number of questions for BCG to answer about its work on Gaza “in light of the high level of public and parliamentary concern.”

He wrote: “We are aware of recent reports regarding BCG’s engagement with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and associated modeling of the costs of relocating Palestinians from Gaza.”

He asked for a “detailed timeline” of BCG’s involvement with the foundation, the scope of its engagement, and the identities of the clients and partners involved. He requested details of other organizations, companies or individuals engaged by BCG in relation to the aid-distribution program, and more details about the type of the “unauthorized” work the company said was carried out.

Byrne also asked for more information about the work related to the development of models for the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, including the identities of those who commissioned the work and whether any UK-based organizations were involved.

He gave BCG until July 22 to respond, “given the seriousness of these issues and the high level of public interest.”

Nearly 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 during Israel’s war on Gaza, including more than 500 in recent weeks as they attempted to obtain food aid from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites. The organization, which was set up to replace UN aid-distribution mechanisms, has been condemned by humanitarian chiefs for politicizing aid.

US and Israeli-backed proposals to relocate the Palestinian population of Gaza to other countries, which emerged at the start of the year, were widely condemned by governments in the region and beyond.


Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI

Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI
Updated 15 min 47 sec ago

Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI

Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI

GENEVA: Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha held a series of high-level meetings during his official visit to Switzerland, aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s global role in promoting inclusivity in the era of artificial intelligence, innovation, and digital economy development.

The minister met with UN International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The two discussed the Kingdom’s longstanding partnership with the union spanning more than 76 years.

The minister also met with Algerian Minister of Post and Telecommunications Sid Ali Zerrouki, to expand partnership opportunities in the areas of digital governance, AI, and digital infrastructure.

 


WOOHOO, a restaurant operated by an AI chef, to open in Dubai soon

WOOHOO, a restaurant operated by an AI chef, to open in Dubai soon
Updated 31 min 52 sec ago

WOOHOO, a restaurant operated by an AI chef, to open in Dubai soon

WOOHOO, a restaurant operated by an AI chef, to open in Dubai soon
  • AI ‘Chef Aiman’ to create data-driven flavour combinations
  • The restaurant that bills itself as “dining in the future” is set to open in September

DUBAI: In Dubai, your dinner might soon come with a side of source code.
WOOHOO, a restaurant that bills itself as “dining in the future,” is set to open in September in central Dubai, a stone’s throw from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Food at WOOHOO will be assembled by humans, for now, but everything else — from the menu to ambience to service — will be designed by a culinary large-language-model called “Chef Aiman.”
Aiman — a portmanteau of “AI” and “man” — is trained on decades of food science research, molecular composition data and over a thousand recipes from cooking traditions around the world, said Ahmet Oytun Cakir, one of WOOHOO’s founders.

Food prepared using the recipe from "Aiman", the AI Chef is served on a plate, at the Trove Restaurant in Dubai on July 8, 2025. (REUTERS)

While Chef Aiman can’t taste, smell or interact with his dishes like a chef normally would, the model works by breaking cuisine down to its component parts like texture, acidity and umami, and reassembling them into unusual flavour and ingredient combinations, according to Aiman’s developers.
These prototypes are then refined by human cooks who taste the combinations and provide direction, in an effort led by renowned Dubai-based chef Reif Othman.
“Their responses to my suggestions help refine my understanding of what works beyond pure data,” Aiman explained, in an interview with the interactive AI model.
The goal, Aiman’s creators say, is not to supplant the human element of cooking but to complement it.
“Human cooking will not be replaced, but we believe (Aiman) will elevate the ideas, creativity,” said Oytun Cakir, who is also chief executive of hospitality company Gastronaut.
Aiman is designed to develop recipes that re-use ingredients often discarded by restaurants, like meat trimmings or fat, he said.
Longer term, WOOHOO’s founders believe Aiman could be licensed to restaurants across the globe, reducing kitchen waste and improving sustainability. (Reporting by Luke Tyson Editing by Ros Russell)


RSF attack on shelter in Sudan’s El-Fasher leaves 8 dead, says doctor

RSF attack on shelter in Sudan’s El-Fasher leaves 8 dead, says doctor
Updated 46 min 22 sec ago

RSF attack on shelter in Sudan’s El-Fasher leaves 8 dead, says doctor

RSF attack on shelter in Sudan’s El-Fasher leaves 8 dead, says doctor
  • Since losing control of the capital Khartoum to the army in March, the RSF has stepped up attacks on El-Fasher and its surrounding displacement camps

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed eight civilians in an attack on a bunker sheltering dozens in the besieged western city of El-Fasher, a doctor said Thursday.
Nearly all of Darfur, the vast western region of Sudan, remains under RSF control, with communications and media access cut off since the RSF’s war with the army began in April 2023.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, and devastated the northeast African country.
“The RSF bombed a shelter where citizens had taken refuge using a drone, late on Tuesday night,” the doctor told AFP from El-Fasher Teaching Hospital, one of the city’s last functioning health facilities.
They spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety, as health workers have been repeatedly targeted, using a satellite Internet connection to circumvent the communications blackout.
North Darfur state’s capital, El-Fasher, is the only major city in Sudan’s vast Darfur region still outside RSF control, despite a siege that began in May last year.
Since losing control of the capital Khartoum to the army in March, the RSF has stepped up attacks on El-Fasher and its surrounding displacement camps — where famine has already been declared — in an attempt to consolidate its hold on Darfur.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of the plight of the city’s trapped civilians, who shelter from shelling in makeshift bunkers dug in courtyards and in front of houses.
The bunker bombed on Tuesday had been “sheltering dozens of people,” an eyewitness told AFP.
The city’s resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating frontline aid across the country, said El-Fasher was rocked by RSF artillery throughout Wednesday.
El-Fasher’s estimated one million people survive with barely any access to food, water or health care, with critical infrastructure decimated by a lack of maintenance and fuel shortages.
The United Nations said this week that nearly 40 percent of children under five in El-Fasher were suffering from acute malnutrition, including 11 percent with severe acute malnutrition.
Aid sources say an official famine declaration is impossible given the lack of access to data, but mass starvation has all but gripped the city.
Since the war began, the UN estimates 780,000 people have been displaced from El-Fasher and its surrounding displacement camps, including half a million in April and May following a series of brutal RSF attacks.
Of the 10 million people currently internally displaced in Sudan — the world’s largest displacement crisis — nearly 20 percent are in North Darfur.