BEIRUT: Lebanon’s economy may be performing far below its potential, but when it comes to artificial intelligence, the country is punching above its weight.So says Kamal Shehadi, the country’s minister of the displaced and minister of state for technology and artificial intelligence, who told Arab News: “Lebanon is fifth in the region in terms of AI adoption at 27 percent of the population, which is a very good number considering all the challenges that the country faces.”But Shehadi, who holds Lebanon’s first government portfolio dedicated to technology and AI, wants to push that figure much further. The first target is 1.1 million people, and Shehadi already has his sights set on a second million.The push gained momentum last week when the UAE and Lebanon launched the “One Million Lebanese AI Experts” initiative, announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York at a meeting between Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Run under the UAE’s Government Experience Exchange Programme, it will give one million Lebanese practical training in generative AI and prompt engineering, so they can use the tools in their work and daily lives.“It’s not enough to stop at the first 1.1 million people,” Shehadi said. “We want to go beyond that and get to at least 50 percent of the population within a couple of years.”A long-term betShehadi knows the payoff will not be immediate. “This is an initiative aimed at mass education and mass training. The return on that is going to be felt over time,” he said. “There is no immediate financial return, but what it does, it helps to transform the economy, to help digitalize the whole economy.”He is equally clear about the program’s limits. Training citizens, he said, was “just a facilitator for digital transformation,” not in itself a plan to overhaul government services or the private sector.The training has been secured from both big tech companies and local tech firms. Shehadi distinguishes between two groups — a million “prompters,” ordinary citizens who learn to use AI tools, and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 “builders” who will develop the digital services those citizens use.One feeds the other, he explained. A population comfortable with AI “would create demand for the digitalization that we’re working on.”Skills without the brain drainIn a country where emigration has long drained talent, a natural question is whether new skills will simply become a ticket abroad. Shehadi does not think so.“I doubt that educating another million people to use the basic artificial intelligence tools will mean more emigration,” he said, arguing that those drawn away by other countries were people who were “much more specialized, and this is really not what this mass education initiative is about.”Instead, he framed the effort as part of a wider government mission: to transform the economy, restore peace, stability and the rule of law, and “make it easier for young men and women to invest in Lebanon, to build their future in Lebanon, and to build their careers in Lebanon.”Courting investors and startupsShehadi said the government was pursuing reforms on several fronts, from securing the country’s borders to rebuilding the banking sector. He expects Gulf investors and companies to play a growing role in Lebanon’s economic recovery.His own ministry’s focus is the business environment. “We want the Lebanese environment to be business friendly, especially for technology startups,” he said, adding that the aim was not only to attract tech companies but also to provide the financing they need to grow.Beyond basic skills, the ministry has launched a specialized training program, with thousands of Lebanese already signed up. Courses run through universities, NGOs and municipalities, and each ends with a certificate. They cover AI prompting and coding, and designing AI solutions for different industries.‘No other choice’For now, Shehadi said, AI posed no immediate threat to jobs in Lebanon. But he warned that this would not last.“In the medium to long term, yes, all jobs will be affected,” he said, adding employers would favor those “who have mastered the use of artificial intelligence.”The ministry’s goal, he said, was to enable Lebanese “to be relevant, to be productive, to be competitive in a work environment that is being turned upside down by artificial intelligence.”His conclusion was blunt: “It’s either we get ready for it and we’re able to master this new skill, or we are left behind. Our choice is clear. We have no other choice in front of us.”
Stay on top of the issues that matter to you the most.
