Muscat: Do you wake up in the middle of the night or constantly ponder questions that seem to eat away at your sleep? Got doubts about the existence or just random questions you would want to ask your favourite celebrities? Let’s talk about it!

Well, not me, but an AI chatbot can help you with your innate craving for entertainment. Recently, some Congress members in Washington, USA, have started circulating a draft bill titled “NO FAKES Act”, which forces makers of AI-generated digital replicas to license their use from the original human. If this bill is passed, it would allow individuals to authorize and even profit from the replicas being generated through AI. This also allows real humans to file lawsuits against those who replicate them and their identities.

All these technological advancements really make you think about the concept of ‘Freedom’ and what it truly means to have the freedom to be who you are and be individualistic. With many celebrities who have had trouble keeping their identity in the past and not having had it snatched by those who manage them through fishy contracts, we are inching towards a dark era where there’s a grey area when it comes to legal rights in safeguarding your identity in the realm of technology.

Communication is divided into 4 key stages:

1) Encoding: It is the process where the information you would like to communicate gets transferred into a form to be sent and decoded by the receiver.

2) Channel: It is the preferred outlet to convey the information. It could be a smartphone or a letter, but it’s important to know that each channel has its benefits and limitations.

3) Decoding: This stage is all about receiving the message and how the information is decoded by the receiver to then be used accordingly based on the data and the circumstance.

4) Feedback: The apt way to determine whether the information being shared was well received or not. Feedback also depends on many factors through which the results can be determined through actions or words.

If we bring AI into the mix, can you identify how it could play a pivotal role in establishing its presence in all these stages? An AI chatbot has almost perfectly emulated all these stages, ALMOST. AI is now self-sufficient enough to carry out all the stages of communication; however, the moment you realize that the person on the other side isn’t a human, you lose the need to be stimulated to have a conversation because so far we haven’t trusted technology enough to take it seriously, especially in the form of AI.

“I think the Omani government should focus on establishing ethical guidelines and investing in AI education, ensuring that AI is developed and used responsibly,” stated Thuraiya Al Harthy, speaking at TAS Conclave 2023.

Thuraiya Al Harthi, Director of Government Digital Services Unified Portal, Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology, spoke about the importance of AI and how it can be implemented into propelling Oman into the future. She mentioned the benefits of implementing AI into government services, which can help smoothen the communication process. 

But with all these advancements in AI, humanity is walking on a very delicate line of venturing into the future while trying to be as authentic as possible.