The Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Mr. Hassan Jassim Al Sayed, downplayed the fears over the misuse of modern ChatGPT technology by students or researchers in solving their assignments and writing research papers as they depend on information already available to the public on the World Wide Web.

Al Sayed said that the Internet today is full of many valuable sources and data banks, which are essential for students and educational institutions, due to the important role it plays in this field, pointing out that ChatGPT technology is an important addition to the technological development in the artificial intelligence field, which may affect daily lives and the business in the future.

Regarding the ChatGPT technology, Al Sayed explained that it is a system that was launched in November 2022 by the OpenAI artificial intelligence research firm, which is considered an advanced model of Chatbots that simulates human conversation, in a way that makes talking to the machine smoother and more natural, after being trained to understand the content of texts, books, and websites, and to provide more efficient text answers and responses that can amount to creating professional articles or reports. He added that ChatGPT could be useful for a wide range of applications, such as developing Chatbots for customer service or automatically responding to online customer inquiries, in addition to other features.

In the same context, the Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee stressed the need to consider the negative impacts of using artificial intelligence, such as the possibility of biased decision-making and the impact on the labor market, calling on governments to take several steps to avoid misuse of artificial intelligence technologies, in addition to regulating the use of such technologies through legislation and policies that restrict their use for specific purposes or give licenses to companies to use it.

Al Sayed highlighted the need to put in place mechanisms to supervise and monitor the use of these technologies for illegal or immoral purposes, while providing educational and awareness programs to educate the public about the potential risks and benefits of these systems, and how to use them in a responsible manner. He said that the use of artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT, depends on how we use it, knowing the potential benefits and disadvantages of using it and achieving a balance between developing creativity and innovation in those systems while protecting society from its risks.

With regard to Qatar's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Al Sayed said that the State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has developed a national strategy for artificial intelligence that includes several main axes, most notably: Building a stimulating environment for research and innovation in the artificial intelligence field, investing in education by preparing the academic curricula and specializations required for modern jobs to develop artificial intelligence talents, and setting incentives and facilities to encourage entrepreneurship and programs aimed at attracting international companies in the artificial intelligence field.

He also added that the main axes of the national strategy for artificial intelligence are the promotion of using artificial intelligence applications in the public and private sectors, the development of public awareness programs for the optimal use of these applications, and the preparation of regulatory legislation and guidelines related to the ethics of artificial intelligence to protect the rights of all parties and the provision of a legal environment for their use. He pointed out that the follow-up of this strategy’s implementation will be supervised by a higher committee that includes elite specialists from governmental and educational institutions, as well as research institutes.

Mr. Hassan Jassim Al Sayed, Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, noted that artificial intelligence technologies, no matter how advanced levels of development they reach, will not rise to the emotions and feelings expressed by humans that are often required in jobs.