Artificial intelligence will benefit women, says Armenian President

Humanity has “nothing to fear” from the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and its development will ultimately be beneficial for women, according to His Excellency Dr Armen Sarkissian, the President of the Republic of Armenia. 

“AI and humans will co-exist, not compete, and AI will serve us, not the other way round,” Dr Sarkissian wrote this month in Al Ittihad and The National. “Moreover, just as every previous revolution ended up creating far more jobs than they displaced, the same will happen with the Fourth. And these new jobs will benefit both men and women.” 

The Al Ittihad article follows Dr Sarkissian’s keynote address at the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Forum, which was held this year during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week under the theme of “Digitalization, artificial intelligence and the new digital economy: opportunities and challenges in promoting female inclusion”.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution refers to the integration of a range of technologies – including AI, robotics, and the Internet of Things – that, when combined, are transforming societies and the way we all live and work. 

“The world we are creating today with this Fourth Industrial Revolution needs to be more sustainable, Dr Sarkissian wrote in Al Ittihad. “Climate change is happening today because of activities we undertook in the previous industrial revolutions – without properly understanding the consequences.”

Industries will need to leverage emerging technologies to make methods of production more energy efficient and to find new ways of working, according to Dr. Sarkissian. 

“All of this means that we urgently need to upskill our existing workforces and we need men and women that are able to adapt quickly to these rapid changes,” he wrote. “We will need new ideas and to draw on a broader range of talents than we have in the past. Women will, therefore, have more opportunities than they have had in the past. 

“I also believe that women, by their nature, are well equipped to address sustainability issues. Women have traditionally sustained families, nurtured children and been at the heart of cultures – they have been central to sustainability.”