Raghda Ibraheem: The first wave of AI was about what machines can do. The next is about who controls them and who gets prepared. In finance, the UAE central bank has already issued guidance asking banks to keep human oversight over AI, and classrooms are asking what the next generation should learn. And today we’re going to look at all of that.
We look at what AI means now for finance, for education, and also for the young people who will inherit it. Joining me on Zoom is Doctor Jonathan Chang, known as JC. He’s a board director at the 0G Foundation. Doctor, welcome to the show. AI is moving faster than most institutions can keep up with. What is the one change that you think people are still underestimating?
Jonathan Chang: First of all, thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here. Well, you’re correct. Things are moving at a much faster pace than all of us can even comprehend. But I think one thing that we often underestimate is how integrated AI already is within all aspects of our lives, right? You mentioned earlier, it’s already part of our economies, our governments.
But what’s exciting is how we can make AI, for example, improve certain areas such as access to education, improve financial inclusion, or make government services more efficient. But of course, there is always a concern when only a small number of companies control the infrastructure, the data and the models. What we don’t want to do is create a new form of technological dependency.
So one thing that I would say we should see how we can improve is that AI, of course, is intelligent, but how do we make it more open, transparent and accountable, especially for emerging economies?
Raghda Ibraheem: Yes. And Jonathan, it comes to my next point as well, your work on decentralizing AI, or decentralized AI. Now, what does that mean exactly?
Jonathan Chang: Yeah, decentralized AI means that we want to give people more options. It doesn’t mean that we’re replacing big tech, but it is giving people access. So a lot more people can contribute to computing resources, for example, or to the capabilities. I think this will not just let a selected few companies control everything. That’s what it means.
Raghda Ibraheem: So why does it matter who owns and who controls the AI that banks and governments rely on?
Jonathan Chang: Now, let’s not conflate ownership and accountability, right? For example, a government might not necessarily need to create its own LLM, but it does need to have oversight over the sovereignty of AI. For example, what happens when you know where the data is stored? What type of model it uses, and how accessible this particular product is to everybody in that particular economy or that particular country.
I think these are the types of questions that people are asking, and this is why there is decentralized AI: open source, more accessible, with transparency and accountability. That is [unclear: “taking”], it’s a trend. And people want to embrace it more and more.
Raghda Ibraheem: Yeah. And Jonathan, earlier this year, the UAE central bank issued guidance on responsible AI use in banking, including human oversight and explainability. Is that the right approach? What do you think of that?
Jonathan Chang: I actually really appreciate that there is a balance between having AI innovation and AI governance. It doesn’t mean that somehow governance will stifle innovation. This should actually be a good lesson learned for many other countries, and especially emerging economies as well. For instance, when a loan application is being rejected, there should be a chance for people to challenge the decision. For example, it cannot just be outsourced to a technology vendor. So I would say this is a good balance, in particular around governance, transparency and meaningful human oversight.
Raghda Ibraheem: Now, you help fund education and research with [unclear: “lead in university”]. What should schools and universities now be teaching, do you think?
Jonathan Chang: Yeah. So this is one of the things that governments can do, which is to increase this type of AI literacy, especially if we’re talking about public education. But in general, the education sector around AI literacy, and also creating jobs or skills that AI cannot replace. Adaptability and critical thinking are more important than ever.
You know, all these AI tools, yes, they can create papers and essays and things like that. But what it takes away is the critical thinking, and these are the types of skills that education should invest in. And these are the types of partnerships that the government can also take a lead on, creating this AI literacy along with the education sector.
Raghda Ibraheem: Yeah, I think governments really should adapt their curriculum also to fit what’s happening now in this fast-paced progress that we’re seeing. So you mentioned skills, maybe AI skills, and critical thinking as well. What kind of skills will the next generation need that we’re not currently teaching them?
Jonathan Chang: Well, one of the ways that I think we have to change is the relationship between us and our AI tools. They should remain as tools, meaning they are there to help us, not to replace our thinking, our ideas, or even our approach. So when I give workshops or teach in classrooms, I tell my students, look, please use the AI tools out there. Don’t not use them, but don’t let them replace your own thinking, your own ideas, and how you develop your own voice. Because if you keep using that to replace you, then there is no you anymore. I think this is the type of thinking, the type of reckoning, that we all have to have in our relationship with the AI platforms.
Raghda Ibraheem: And let me leave you with this last thing here. What is the one thing that you think governments in our region should do now to prepare the next generation for AI?
Jonathan Chang: Look, the opportunity is tremendous, as we have discussed in the past few minutes, and you have mentioned it as well. But I would like governments to look beyond just data centers or infrastructure. Infrastructure is important, there’s no doubt about it. But we need to also improve the capabilities of our citizens and residents so that they can utilize these tools, again, not being replaced, but utilizing them as tools. So as we mentioned earlier, that means investing in research, investing in public AI literacy and capabilities.
Raghda Ibraheem: Yeah. Thank you so much, Doctor Jonathan Chang, for being here with us today.
