{
  "id": 1622198,
  "title": "It's time to teach AI that humanity does not speak with one voice",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/its-time-to-teach-ai-that-humanity-does-not-speak-with-one-voice",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-18T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/editorial/2026/08/18/ai-arabic-language-internet-science-technology-uae/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Artificial intelligence (AI) is often portrayed as a transformative technology capable of shrinking the world by dismantling communication barriers and promoting mutual understanding. However, many of the current systems have inherited the biases present in modern society. The digital age, which AI plays a crucial role in, was intended to foster connectivity, but the reality is far from that. English and Western cultural assumptions dominate much of the information, filtering through the world's understanding. According to the Internet Society Foundation, English content accounts for over half of all online written material. This issue is not confined to a specific group; AI, which now impacts our lives in various ways, learns from such biased information and risks generating a system that can accurately represent certain cultures while misinterpreting others' references, humor, and customs. This disparity leaves tens of millions of non-English speakers in a precarious position. Therefore, it is crucial to diversify the digital realm and ensure representation of as many global languages as possible. Recently, researchers from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi introduced ArabCulture-Dialogue, the first benchmark designed to evaluate AI models' capacity to comprehend and interact with Arab culture across 13 national dialects. The preliminary studies have revealed a significant discrepancy between the models' ability to grasp what Arabs say and their ability to communicate as Arabs do in their daily lives. Other initiatives led by the UAE, such as the Falcon Arabic and Jais language models, also aim to make the internet more culturally representative. These projects hold significant transnational implications. Arabic, being an official or primary language in over 20 countries, is spoken by millions globally for reading, prayer, and is one of the UN's official languages. Therefore, incorporating Arabic into advanced AI research is of utmost importance. However, this is not a critique against English or the benefits it has brought to the UAE. The country's proficiency in operating across languages and cultures has been instrumental in its success. Instead of erecting technological barriers around individual cultures, the digital world should encompass sufficient cultural knowledge to accurately represent them. There is still a long way to go. A study published in September by Saudi and Qatari academics in the Communications of the ACM journal highlighted that Arabic online \"lacks abundant, well-annotated resources, particularly for regional dialects and informal language use.\" Moreover, they pointed out that \"a significant portion of Arabic knowledge remains undigitized, making it inaccessible for training large-scale models.\" Bridging these gaps is a work in progress. As machines are increasingly expected to help us understand the world, it is imperative that they first learn that humanity does not speak with one voice.",
  "summary": "Artificial intelligence is frequently presented as a revolutionary technology that will make the world smaller by breaking down barriers to communication and mutual understanding. Yet many of the systems now in place have inherited some of modern society’s most persistent biases. The information age, of which AI is a key driver, was supposed to be characterised by connectivity. In many ways it…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "It's time to teach AI that humanity does not speak with one voice",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/its-time-to-teach-ai-that-humanity-does-not-speak-with-one-voice-1623660",
        "published": "2026-08-18T03:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}