Artificial intelligence (AI) as well as dependence on machines has become an indispensable part of life as the data produced currently “exceed any human capability to understand”, an expert told a Doha gathering Thursday.

“We are producing data, more data, more rapidly today than at any point in our history, and humans are just incapable without the aid of machines to understand these things, which puts us in a very serious predicament,” said Dr Moriba Jah, associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas in Austin.

He was delivering the keynote address at an event on *AI Uprising, organised by Georgetown University in Qatar ( GU-Q) as part of its Hiwaraat Series, which aimed to explore how humans can direct AI to sustainably reshape industries and the workforce , enhance well-being and protect the planet’s future.

“Data tends to be the output of measurements,” Dr Jah said.

“I say to my students, if you want to know something, you have to measure it,” he continued. “If you want to understand something, you have to predict it.”

“Prediction is the key,” Dr Jah stated. “We are all familiar with different aspects of environmental problems, but the rate at which data is produced exceed any human's capability to understand it at this point.”

Speaking about “Mother Earth” and the environment, Dr Jah noted that the humans are living in interconnected system, and something that happens in one part shall definitely affect the parts of the universe.

“We need to hypothesise that things are interconnected, that the things happening on land affect oceans, affect the skies, affect space, so on and so forth,” he said.

“In such scenario, machines need to be seen as our collaborators,” Dr Jah said. “Machines can help us sift through hyperdimensional data and help identify causal links. But we need to start thinking about Mother Earth as a holistic system of systems.”

He pointed out that the machines are not the enemy of humans and that humans need to see machines as equals and as collaborators in what humans are trying to do.

Welcoming the gathering, GU-Q dean Safwan Masri said that with the rapid advancements in technology, including AI, the world is at a crossroad facing high stakes.

“AI imitates human capabilities, learns from it, and increasingly surpasses it,” he said. “AI has forced us to reconsider who we are, standing at the threshold of either elevating humanity to heights we have never imagined, or unravelling the events that bind us together. Our conversation today is unique.”

With the arrival of Chat-GPT, the technological acceleration has been unstoppable and unrelenting.

“AI diagnoses diseases, designs cities, solves problems, and offers entertainment that never ends,” Masri added. “But amidst this progress, something darker emerges. AI amplifies our biases and mirrors our fears too, with tools faster, sharper, and more transformative than we have ever encountered.”

“It spreads disinformation that erases the line between truth and lies,” he warned. “It produces deep fakes that distort reality and destabilise governments. These challenges demand thoughtful engagement, spaces where diverse perspectives come together to chart a responsible path forward.”

The event also featured high level panel discussions, keynote speeches and concurrent sessions that explored AI, its benefits and impacts as well as to act with conscience and find ways of harnessing the potential of AI without leaving humanity behind.