��������

Artificial intelligence represents one of the most significant milestones in human scientific progress. It can be described as a natural extension of the human mind’s long journey to understanding and reshaping the world. Just as the discoveries of fire, agriculture, and the Industrial Revolution marked turning points in human civilization, AI now stands as the “fourth revolution,” one that redefines humankind itself, along with its relationship to knowledge, power, and production.

AI is no accident. It is the fruit of accumulated human intellect, a long evolution that began with mathematics, logic and early programming, and has now culminated in cloud computing and deep neural networks.

In economy and production, AI has empowered companies to boost efficiency, cut costs, and analyze markets with unprecedented speed, allowing certain economies to grow faster than others.

In healthcare, AI has introduced revolutionary tools for disease diagnosis, medical imaging, and precision medicine.

In education, it has opened the door to personalized learning systems that adapt to each student’s abilities and pace, thereby fostering greater equity in educational opportunities.

In our daily lives, from smartphones to self-driving cars, AI has become inseparable from our modern experience.

Yet this revolution is not free of danger. Its darker side carries risks that threaten security, stability, and even human identity itself.

Firstly, there are security and military risks. The development of lethal autonomous weapons signals a new arms race, potentially more dangerous than nuclear weapons, given that no binding international treaties yet regulate their use.

Secondly, we see economic and social risks. The expansion of automation might eliminate millions of traditional jobs, increasing unemployment and widening social inequality.

Thirdly, we face cultural and intellectual risks. The ability of AI to create deepfakes, for example, could enable large-scale misinformation, election interference, and social discord.

Then there are the ethical risks. Who owns AI? Who decides what is acceptable or forbidden in its use? These fundamental questions remain unresolved.

The race toward AI supremacy is far from equal. The US and China dominate the summit of innovation thanks to massive investments in research and digital infrastructure, while most of the rest of the world remains on the periphery, consuming rather than creating the technology. This imbalance risks becoming a new form of digital colonialism, reinforcing dependency and undermining the prospects of independent development.

AI is a mirror of the human mind: it reflects our capacity for creativity as well as our tendency toward destruction. 

Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama

AI transcends borders and cannot be confined to any single state or continent. Therefore, humanity urgently needs governing frameworks, including: legally binding international agreements to regulate AI development and prevent its use for military or hostile purposes; a UN-led global charter, akin to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ensuring that the technology remains a force for good; and enhanced international cooperation grounded in shared responsibility and free from the selfish pursuit of profit at any cost.

Many of the world’s leaders and thinkers have already warned of the perils of AI. They have repeatedly stressed the need to regulate AI, warning that unchecked development could lead to “chaos beyond control.” Scientists and entrepreneurs have cautioned that AI could prove even more dangerous than nuclear weapons if left unregulated.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti has emphasized that AI is not a passing trend but a strategic pillar of national modernization and institutional reform. In an address this year, he affirmed that “digital innovation and artificial intelligence are among the most decisive levers of development and modernization,” while calling before the UN for ethical oversight and international accountability.

��������’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated: “We are building a leading model to unlock the value of data and AI, to power knowledge economies and elevate current and future generations.” This vision for the future reflects the Kingdom’s strategic embrace of AI under Vision 2030, and through global platforms such as the Global AI Summit in Riyadh.

Many other leaders have echoed the calls for ethical global standards that will ensure human welfare remains at the center of progress. The ultimate question, then, is whether AI is a blessing or a curse. In truth, the technology is neither purely good nor inherently evil. It is a tool. Used wisely and with a humane vision, it can usher in a new era of prosperity, justice and sustainable development. But left to the greed of corporations and the rivalries of global powers, it could become a curse that endangers humanity’s very future.

AI today is a mirror of the human mind: it reflects our capacity for creativity as well as our tendency toward destruction. The historic responsibility before us is to ensure that AI remains the servant of humanity, not its master. The future of AI depends on our ability to strike a delicate balance between progress and restraint, freedom and responsibility, aspiration and reality.

• Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama is the ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti and dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the Kingdom of ��������. X: @dya_bamakhrama