Egypt's Sisi attends third day of WYF in Sharm El-Sheikh (Photo Courtesy of Sisi's official Facebook page)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has announced that Egypt is set to open a “new generation of universities” next year to serve as home for new technologies.
President Sisi made the comments on the third day of the third edition of the World Youth Forum in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, during a session titled ‘Artificial Intelligence and Humans: Who is in control?’
The president said that technology has had a positive impact on advanced countries, and urged intellectuals and activists to take notice of how opportunities and resources are being wasted while the world continues to move forward.
"We have no time to waste on rivalries. The world is leaping forward… and if we do not move at the same pace, we will be held back more and will not be able to make up that distance," he said.
He also underlined the necessity of being a part of the ongoing global industrial revolution, stressing the importance of preparing for the new job market that is tied to new technologies.
"Artificial intelligence can give us a chance to eliminate human error, save time, and lower corruption levels," he said, referring to Egypt's efforts to digitalise, and adding that the corruption he is talking about is not financial, but is rather related to performance.
"The government will move next year to the New Administrative Capital, [which is equipped] with new technologies to improve performance and overcome corruption," he said.
According to El-Sisi, automation in data collection has helped Egypt correct its subsidy system and allowed it to eliminate 2 million unnecessary subsidy cards.
He also said that the rules and guidelines related to modern technologies are always subjected to national security considerations, even in the countries that create these technologies.
He added that terrorist organizations utilise social media in attempts to destabilise countries.
"I say this because I consider my humanity to be more importance than my post," he said, accentuating the importance of awareness in thwarting such attempts.
The third day of the third edition of the World Youth Forum kicked off with a focus on artificial intelligence and new technologies, with an appearance by Sophia the Robot as well as prominent guest speakers in the field.
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