The cultural sector should embrace AI instead of fearing it

One way AI could help to preserve Arab culture is by digitising historical manuscripts. Getty

Creating art and stories is probably one of the most fundamentally human endeavours imaginable. It is an expression of self. Art explores the human experience. Culture reflects our values, our beliefs, how we love and how we live.

Culture is, well, what makes us “us”.

As a patron of the arts and the founder of Admaf – an organisation championing Emirati, Arab and international talent – I understand the widespread belief among artists and professionals regarding artificial intelligence: AI should stay away from culture and human creation. Full stop.

However, I respectfully disagree. The idea of AI meddling with human creativity is, of course, unsettling. But art and culture living in isolation from a changing world would be, perhaps, even more disturbing. AI is influencing every aspect of life, from communication to health care, from business to education. Art has always mirrored societal evolution and must now engage with AI as both a topic of exploration and a tool. Excluding AI from art would negate the very nature of art: to go everywhere humans go. And whether we like it or not, humans are going AI.

Looking beyond the initial mistrust, AI offers exciting prospects for Arab culture. It can digitise and archive cultural treasures, from the manuscripts of Al Andalus to Al Mutanabbi’s poetry, and make them vastly accessible. By connecting vast sums of knowledge across multiple languages, AI provides deeper understanding, richer context, and unseen connections that highlight the universality of our culture.

The UAE’s Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language is a prime example of this potential. Powered by AI, it documents 14 million words and hundreds of thousands of references. This project preserves linguistic heritage while serving diverse audiences in ways unimaginable three years ago: an immensely powerful research tool for scholars and an immersive experience for language lovers.

Art has always mirrored societal evolution and must now engage with AI

AI can also be a powerful ally to emerging artists who often do not benefit from support systems that their more established counterparts enjoy. From audience analysis to faster and cheaper tools for translation and dubbing, AI provides resources to help works of art reach new audiences. It levels the playing field by enabling artists to produce visual concepts, demo reels and previsualisations using affordable AI tools when similar results once required large teams and significant budgets.

AI also is a great enabler of inter-cultural dialogue, a subject that is particularly close to my heart and a cornerstone of Admaf’s work. Virtual collaboration platforms will allow artists to collaborate on joint projects unburdened by speaking different languages or living in different geographies, thus enabling cross-cultural works and new artistic sensibilities to emerge.

Of course, the promise of AI is no magic bullet and vigilance is required. Authenticity is critical and AI must be trained on diverse and rich data, with proper contextualisation, to avoid biases and faithfully represent Arab culture. Without this, AI risks misrepresenting or distorting our heritage.

AI does not dissolve the relevance of a human touch. Quite the opposite: it makes it more critical than ever. AI is a tool, not a curator. Museums would be little more than glorified storage spaces if they did not rely on curators to bring context and narrative to their collections. Such human curation is required with AI, too. Without human perspective and human intent, culture and heritage risk becoming soulless data points. Similarly, although AI will indeed make cultural consumption easier and more universally accessible through, for instance, virtual reality, this will not change our need for human connection. A live concert or a film in the cinema offer the kind of shared experience that audiences have always sought and will keep on seeking.

Of course, challenges lie ahead, not the least of which involves economic concerns. A study by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers predicts a 21 per cent revenue loss, amounting to $12.4 billion, for audiovisual creators by 2028. No surprise there: AI will impact traditional revenue streams in culture as it does in all fields. Ignoring these challenges won’t make them disappear. Instead, cultural leaders must creatively address AI’s impact, inventing new business models and new ways to ensure a fair transition and that artists and their art do not suffer.

“Science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.” The French Renaissance writer Francois Rabelais’s words are as fitting today as they were when they were written. The UAE’s Historical Dictionary and Jais large language model demonstrate the extraordinary power of AI in the world of culture, with the right balance between cutting edge technology and human perspective and intent.

“Technology, no matter how well-designed, is only a magnifier of human intent and capacity. It is not a substitute.” These words of the computer scientist and researcher Kentaro Toyama remind us that the challenge for culture is not AI. It is us and our own intent and capacity, as humans, to keep on putting human creativity, art and artists on the forefront.