Thoughts and Reflections on the Case of Qatar: Should Artificial Intelligence Be Regulated?

Abstract

Many valid concerns have been raised regarding the future impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the social and economic aspects of society. On the one hand, new technologies offer new opportunities for governments and policy-makers to reach the maximum potentials of the data sources available to manage and direct societal assets in smarter and more innovative ways. On the other hand, relying on new technologies and robotics poses fundamental threats, as AI companies create independent agents, which can act autonomously from human beings, invade their privacy, and make decisions on their behalf. This situation raises a fundamental question about the role of government in regulating AI, and the implications it has on ethical, economic, legal, and security aspects. In other words, where and how should governments intervene to draw the line between the potential benefits of using AI systems, and the expected risks resulting from the utilization of AI applications? To answer this question is to address the regulatory challenges facing governments in minimizing the potential hazards associated with the widespread utilization of modern technological applications on the people in the society. In this context, the chapter argues that recent developments in AI systems call for a regulatory intervention that strikes a balance between potential benefits and the expected threats for AI systems. Nonetheless, any attempt to regulate AI is bound by the meaning we associate with this concept as AI means different things to different people and poses diverse types of risks in different policy domains. In order to follow up on this argument, the author reached out to the AI policy community in Qatar to examine and explore the local regulatory landscape of AI.