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RISE OF AI

The world is changing fast.
But of all of the technologies driving this rapid change, artificial intelligence, or AI, seems to be moving the fastest. Not a day seems to go by without new headlines about the wonders – and dangers – AI might bring:

■   AI will make your job easier by automating repetition. Or it might put you out of a job.
■   It will diminish human error. Unless the human who creates the AI inserts conscious or unconscious biased data.
■   AI gives us tools to be more creative. But AI itself cannot be creative or innovative. And many popular art AIs are trained on arguably stolen art, highlighting how intellectual property laws still lag.
■   For every story about how AI might benefit humanity with instant information, there is another that points out problems with ethics, privacy and more.
In this issue of KUST Review, we investigate some of these issues. Senior science writer Jade Sterling looks at the metaverse and how the technology behind it might change our lives. Writer Maggie Kinsella talks to leaders in the UAE oil industry about how AI is making the business more sustainable. And editor Suzanne Condie Lambert interviews an Abu Dhabi physicist who merges art and science by dancing with robots.

We highlight the hackathon organized by Khalifa University to create the first university in the metaverse space, or as we call it Metaversity. We also feature more of the stunning graphics and design you’ve come to expect in these pages.

You’ll find even more in these pages, on our website, www.KUSTReview.com, and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube @KUSTReview. So page, click, subscribe and follow to get the best of our coverage of science in the Middle East and around the world in English and in Arabic. As always, be informed and stay curious.

Arif Sultan Al Hammadi
Editor-in-Chief