Web Summit Kicks Off in Qatar, AI Takes Center Stage

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Facts

  • Web Summit, one of the world's largest tech conferences, kicked off in Doha, Qatar, on Monday. The four-day event is expected to bring together more than 1.1K startups from 80 countries.1
  • Being held in the Middle East for the first time, this year's Web Summit will likely attract entrepreneurs, investors, and world leaders, and focus on artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and clean technology, and commerce.2
  • Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has already used the summit to announce that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to invest more than $1B in international and regional venture capital funds.3
  • According to Casey Lau, Head of Asia at Web Summit, the summit is intended to 'promote startups, create startups, and get startups funded,' adding that AI would touch 'every single stage out there.'2
  • Also at the conference, Qatar Airways unveiled an exclusive prompt less Generative AI experience, which it said uses frictionless visual interactions and an interactive 3D map and will help customers navigate the airline's network of 170 destinations.4

Sources: 1The Circuit, 2The Peninsula Qatar, 3Al Jazeera and 4Qatar Airways Newsroom.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Teller Report. Artificial intelligence has taken the entire world by storm over the past year, and it's starting to shake up Middle Eastern markets completely. AI brings multiple economic and technological opportunities that can spur serious growth and innovation. The technology can be harnessed in many ways to streamline production, bring skills to workers, and reduce costs for firms. The future is here, and the Middle East has many reasons to be excited about the emergence of AI.
  • Technoskeptic narrative, as provided by Doha News. While it's easy to get excited about the potential of AI and future innovation, it's also important to remember the human cost of rapid technological advancement and its impact on broader society. Artificial intelligence may benefit large corporations looking to reduce labor costs; however, if policies surrounding AI aren't thought out, it risks displacing thousands of workers and causing massive societal disruption.

Predictions