World Government Summit Discusses AI

The opening session of the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The opening session of the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

World Government Summit Discusses AI

The opening session of the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The opening session of the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The governments' adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has become inevitable, which is no longer an option, according to the UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit (WGS) Organization, Mohammad al-Gergawi.

Gergawi is expected to witness an upcoming biological revolution surpassing the technological revolution, and 90 percent of media production would be through AI without human intervention.

During his opening session, "A Decade of Change," on the first day of the 10th WGS, Gergawi touched on the refugee crisis, noting that on November 15, 2022, the world crossed the threshold of eight billion people.

The world will witness a radical change in illiteracy and skills, saying illiterates would be those who can't deal with AI technologies.

The Minister indicated that natural disasters cost humanity about $3 trillion, noting that climate change, which could displace more than 1 billion refugees by 2050, costs a $23 trillion loss for the world.

In his keynote speech at the Summit, the Founder and President of the World Economic Forum (WEF) (Davos), Klaus Schwab, stressed the urgency to develop new mechanisms that strengthen international cooperation in today's multipower world.

Schwab also stressed the need for concerted efforts to implement structural transformations within various strategic sectors, including the economy, technology, and politics, in light of the humanitarian crisis the world is witnessing.

He said technological transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution would impact the world for years.

"Governments in different parts of the world should play leading roles in keeping pace with changes," Schwab said.

Regarding structural transformations to be witnessed in various vital economic sectors, Schwab said there will be about 10 billion people in need of energy by 2050. He stressed the need to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and reach zero carbon emissions.

Schwab pointed to the political changes taking place in the world, which are transforming the globe from a unipolar world to a multipolar world.

Schwab said: "A few years ago, we considered some technologies a science fiction that was difficult to implement, but today it has become a reality that we live through artificial intelligence, new space technology, and industrial biology, which heralds a major change coming during the next ten years, and requires governments to be ambitious in their decisions."

For her part, the director general of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, urged member states to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to crisis-stricken countries and disaster zones to speed the recovery of impacted countries.

Okonjo-Iweala explained that the organization highlighted the importance of accelerating support operations for countries affected by disasters and attributed the decline in trade to global economic shocks.

Concerning trade disputes between member states, Okonjo-Iweala said that 99 percent of the organization's members want to reform the dispute system, which will be accomplished in the future.



IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
TT

IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."