Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, formally inaugurated the Sharjah International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Linguistics, SICAL 2024, which took place at the American University of Sharjah(AUS). He was officially greeted upon his arrival by the university's president, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, accompanied by a number of officials and diplomatic representatives.
Speaking at the keynote address of the conference, Sheikh Sultan described the conference as a milestone and stressed that linguistic research is highly connected with modern technological progression. "The potential and challenges are almost within the same dimension in the world of artificial intelligence", he said. "The possibilities are limitless, and we are faced with so many challenges every day because the breakthroughs in science are almost every hour".
He also highlighted the efforts of Sharjah to promote artificial intelligence in language services. "In Sharjah, the city of knowledge and culture, we have opened our hearts, minds, and institutions to explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and languages", he observed, underlining efforts to bolster computational research in Arabic.
He declared that the completion of the Historic Dictionary of the Arabic Language, with 127 volumes, had been achieved. He described this as a product of tremendous dedication and resources. Speaking on AI in lexicography, he said, "We are now entering the field of lexicographical development through artificial intelligence". This will be made computationally accessible so as to facilitate knowledge sharing globally.
He urged the students to integrate scientific inquiry with computational advancement in such a way that it does not compromise ethical considerations. He encouraged them to integrate linguistic studies with computational work responsibly.
Conference Themes and Objectives:
The conference is intended to address the ethical issues and innovative opportunities in linguistics, AI, and culture. The conference has over 50 speakers and 1,000 participants and more than 20 workshops seeking collaboration among tech leaders for the development of ethically grounded AI technologies.
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi underscored that the topics for discussion were very significant when she added, "Today, we have come to discuss a matter of great importance. artificial intelligence, its applications, and the immense impact it has had on the language and cultural identity." She further observed that it was a shared responsibility to help preserve language in society.
