Artificial Intelligence: The Way Forward
Observer Round Table discussion sheds light on AI
Published: 05:06 PM,Jun 13,2023 | EDITED : 09:06 PM,Jun 13,2023
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will rule all the spheres of life in future but it's the human intelligence that controls and complements the norm of life. This was the summary of the monthly 'Oman Observer Round Table Discussion' held on Tuesday at the Observer premises.
Titled 'AI -- The Way Forward', experts in health, education and digital transformation brainstormed for an hour on the topic. Held under the auspices of Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili, Editor-in-Chief of Oman Daily Observer, the panelists included Dr Ahmed al Awadhi, Big Data Analyst from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Kamla al Hattali, Vocational Education Specialist, Al Injaz School, Sajana Muhammad Iqbal, IT lead at Al Injaz Private School, and Dr Meher Rizvi, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, SQU, who joined online.
According to Al Awadhi, AI is widely in use in health sector and it has become an inevitable part of the sector in diagnosing and treating diseases like cancer. 'Once the disease is diagnosed, they will choose the mode of treatment but with AI, the system will find out from trillions of cases and treatments the best way out,' he said.
As Oman is yet to make use of such technology although it is widely in use across the world, AI can propose the best solution to any health issue. However, accountability is a question when it comes to AI because it is a prediction model. AI is a double-edged sword for it can be used for both positive and negative purposes. In healthcare, privacy and confidentiality are biggest questions. Once the data is fed to the system, it can be accessed by anyone from anywhere through legal or illegal gateways.
'AI needs some human power to control, manage and make use of it for a better purpose. Just as when computers replaced humans but later needed them to be managed by humans, AI too would need manpower to make use of it. Hence, galore of job opportunities is in the pipeline for the youths,' Kamla al Hattali said.
However, if the input is wrong, the output too will be erroneous. For this, there should be a strong data system back up.
'When it comes to education, it will help save time and efforts for both children and teachers but the negative side is that children will not depend on teachers the way they used to in the past or in the traditional mode of imparting knowledge,' Kamla said.
“Covid-19 pandemic was a great era for AI to grow and most of the schools and other educational institutions have turned themselves into more AI-dependent institutions. To me, AI should be in education at all levels,” said Sajana Muhammad Iqbal.
For her, constant research and development are crucial for AI to be part and parcel of people's lives. She said AI should be in application at all levels, specifically from KG classes and children should be given a chance to get customised. 'AI is widely in use in detecting plagiarism and the results are greatly influencing the children,' she said.
Every application of AI helps detect any disease well before it happens and this is the whole idea of it. Even a smart watch powered by AI can detect the patient’s vitals and advise him what modifications he needs to make in his lifestyle.
AI can even forecast at what age a person can get a cardiac stroke if he or she continues the same lifestyle.
According to Dr Meher who recently conducted a symposium on ‘AI and us', AI is a versatile tool and at the same time can be detrimental if not used properly.
“Application of AI in Immunology and Microbiology is just building up and we have lots of automation in Immunology and Microbiology which uses AI. It will vastly be used in research and diagnostics in the days to come,” she added.
The discussions were moderated by Hibba al Kindi, Observer reporter.
Titled 'AI -- The Way Forward', experts in health, education and digital transformation brainstormed for an hour on the topic. Held under the auspices of Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili, Editor-in-Chief of Oman Daily Observer, the panelists included Dr Ahmed al Awadhi, Big Data Analyst from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Kamla al Hattali, Vocational Education Specialist, Al Injaz School, Sajana Muhammad Iqbal, IT lead at Al Injaz Private School, and Dr Meher Rizvi, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, SQU, who joined online.
According to Al Awadhi, AI is widely in use in health sector and it has become an inevitable part of the sector in diagnosing and treating diseases like cancer. 'Once the disease is diagnosed, they will choose the mode of treatment but with AI, the system will find out from trillions of cases and treatments the best way out,' he said.
As Oman is yet to make use of such technology although it is widely in use across the world, AI can propose the best solution to any health issue. However, accountability is a question when it comes to AI because it is a prediction model. AI is a double-edged sword for it can be used for both positive and negative purposes. In healthcare, privacy and confidentiality are biggest questions. Once the data is fed to the system, it can be accessed by anyone from anywhere through legal or illegal gateways.
'AI needs some human power to control, manage and make use of it for a better purpose. Just as when computers replaced humans but later needed them to be managed by humans, AI too would need manpower to make use of it. Hence, galore of job opportunities is in the pipeline for the youths,' Kamla al Hattali said.
However, if the input is wrong, the output too will be erroneous. For this, there should be a strong data system back up.
'When it comes to education, it will help save time and efforts for both children and teachers but the negative side is that children will not depend on teachers the way they used to in the past or in the traditional mode of imparting knowledge,' Kamla said.
“Covid-19 pandemic was a great era for AI to grow and most of the schools and other educational institutions have turned themselves into more AI-dependent institutions. To me, AI should be in education at all levels,” said Sajana Muhammad Iqbal.
For her, constant research and development are crucial for AI to be part and parcel of people's lives. She said AI should be in application at all levels, specifically from KG classes and children should be given a chance to get customised. 'AI is widely in use in detecting plagiarism and the results are greatly influencing the children,' she said.
Every application of AI helps detect any disease well before it happens and this is the whole idea of it. Even a smart watch powered by AI can detect the patient’s vitals and advise him what modifications he needs to make in his lifestyle.
AI can even forecast at what age a person can get a cardiac stroke if he or she continues the same lifestyle.
According to Dr Meher who recently conducted a symposium on ‘AI and us', AI is a versatile tool and at the same time can be detrimental if not used properly.
“Application of AI in Immunology and Microbiology is just building up and we have lots of automation in Immunology and Microbiology which uses AI. It will vastly be used in research and diagnostics in the days to come,” she added.
The discussions were moderated by Hibba al Kindi, Observer reporter.