As 77 percent of the young generation feel the need of AI literacy for their future careers, MBZUAI launched the AI Armchair at a recent event.
Recently, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) hosted an immersive event, bringing together over 300 students from UAE schools and MBZUAI in the metaverse. The aim was to make artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible to the younger generation, showcasing generative technology and its creative potential.
Officially launching its AI Armchair series, the conversation titled ‘How AI Gives You Superpowers’, treated students to an interactive storytelling demonstration on Jais – the Arabic large language model (LLM) – launched last month by G42’s Inception, US-based Cerebras Systems, and MBZUAI. At a survey conducted at the event, the majority (77 percent) of participating students, aged 12 to 15 years, said that they believe their generation will require AI skills to secure employment after completing their education.
At the start of the event Sultan Al Hajji, Vice President of Public Affairs and Alumni Relations, MBZUAI, said, “We hope the bright young people we met will be among the future students of MBZUAI. As one of the only countries in the world with an AI strategy at the heart of its national vision, increasing AI aptitude and literacy among its young people is a vital aspect of achieving the Emirates’ long-term economic and social goals. Through events such as the AI Armchair, we are elevating the discussion around AI’s benefits with the public, one conversation at a time.”
Hao Li, Associate Professor of Computer Vision and Director of the MBZUAI Metaverse Center at MBZUAI, shared a brief history of AI, its growth through automation and autonomy. He demonstrated cutting edge AI-powered software that can help to produce immersive 3D images and avatars for learning opportunities, giving insight into research being done today at MBZUAI to create future AI-based applications around telepresence and language adoption that will benefit the education sector.
Marco Tempest, a creative technologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a director’s fellow alumni of the MIT MediaLab, discussed some of his work with transformative technologies, including metaverse, robotics, and AI, to create unique experiences. He wowed the audience with a live demonstration using a green screen to highlight how artists have always used emerging technologies to create compelling human experiences.
In line with MBZUAI’s mission to create a talent pipeline and AI knowledge-based economy within the UAE, 68 percent of the attending students indicated that the session inspired them to consider a career in AI. E
