Her Highness’ Speech at the WISE 12 Opening

Esteemed Guests, 

Peace be upon you. 

Today we begin our summit with an open invitation for innovation and creativity in education. As you may know, WISE was not created simply to reiterate traditional practices in education, nor was it created to restate age-old questions in new ways. Rather, it was created to be a space to rouse our minds and ignite our thinking, enabling us to break through molds and inspiring us all to think outside the box when it comes to education.

Here at the WISE Summit, we believe that education is not a public sector service like any other; instead it is an indisputable and inalienable right. It is a fundamental pillar upon which humanity, justice and progress are built. Education should not be treated as a commodity, nor as a privilege, nor as a favor granted from one person to another. 

In the past, we have extensively discussed education as a fundamental right and spotlighted the remarkable accomplishments in improving and enhancing its quality. Perhaps now is the time to turn to the other side of the issue: the challenges and obstacles that hinder educational development.

This development seeks to inspire innovations that narrows the gap between those on the forefront and those lagging behind, while accelerating the pace of progress for those in between, so that they all can reserve their place in the vanguard of humanity as it marches towards the future.

So where do we stand in this procession? The question of our positionality is naturally followed by the question of destination. Hence, we must ask: what kind of future do we want? And what resources do we hold in our hands to guide us along this noble path.

It is correct, upon closer examination, that the international community is not a single entity; indeed, the international community is made up of many communities experiencing various epistemic ages and realities. This difference could be due to inherited institutional failures affecting various countries and regions across the globe. 

A well-intentioned generalization can be made about the Arab world, Africa, parts of Latin America and Asia: these regions are almost entirely absent from recognition in the field of research and discovery in prestigious international awards and prizes. There have been a few individual success stories, but these successes are on account of what has become known as ‘brain-drain’ or an escape, if you will, toward a more conducive and stimulating scientific environment abroad. 

Here we must confront an uncomfortable question: what is the cause of this insufficiency and deficit? Is it at the individual level? Or at the level of the social and scientific environment? these questions lead to another more pressing question: how can our community possibly achieve the conditions to not only catch up, and keep up, but to compete?

Here at the WISE Summit, we are well aware that to meet these conditions, we must never stop striving to improve education. This is what drove us to create the WISE Prize, which promotes innovative solutions to enhance education. And we are about to launch a new index to measure the quality of education.

The WISE Education Index stands out by going beyond the measurement of academic attributes alone; it integrates academic models with key social and cultural values that form the foundation of the educational experience. 

Ladies and gentlemen.

The history of human achievements in science and education evokes in us all a sense of pride and triumph. In terms of science and technology, humanity has been able to achieve advancements that were once mere science fiction. Humanity continues to accumulate this experience and knowledge, journeying across millennia from one era to the next, ultimately reaching vast frontiers in every aspect of life.

What used to require thousands of years, started advancing at a faster pace, within a century—or even less—humanity leapt from one age to another.

This great heritage rests upon a single word: knowledge. In the beginning came the word, then the pen, and then the written script. The journey of humanity in advancing the written word is, in itself, the history of science, learning and education.

Humanity, which has made tremendous leaps since the Stone Age and continued to push boundaries, has now reached a new turning point. The speed of change is now greater than our limits and beyond our ability to adapt.

This reality has brought risks we cannot underestimate nor can we ignore: for the first time, we see an abdication of our intelligence in favor of artificial intelligence, and an irreversible transfer of our skills to ultra-intelligent, ultra-fast machines. Perhaps we are not far from a time when AI applications and those who design and control them, encompass the entire breadth of human activities, to the point where humans lose their freedoms and are entangled in a web of digital servitude.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, we arrive at the ‘mother of all questions’ that underpins the entire scientific journey and its purpose: the question of knowledge, values, and ethics in light of the rapid changes in artificial intelligence. We must ask ourselves: what kind of education do we want? And what kind of progress are we aspiring to? This is the moral and philosophical question of progress – one that seeks to benefit and better humanity.

And when we say progress, we are referring to the single driving force that has propelled humanity forward from the dawn of time: it is education. And when education is stripped of values and ethics it becomes clear how easily it can be transformed into an absolute evil. Consider weapons of mass destruction: they are nothing more than a rotten fruit from the tree of knowledge –knowledge that was meant to be cultivated with moral responsibility toward the human race, and life itself. 

When individuals sever their ties with ethics and values, they risk becoming hollow beings, stripped of conscience. The wars and blood-soaked killing fields we witness – from Gaza to Sudan and beyond – are stark manifestations of humanity’s lost moral compass. They turn human tragedies into grotesque absurdities, and lay bare the deepest flaws in our collective morality.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Since it is human action that directs things either toward good or toward evil, it has become imperative– given the risks surrounding technological development– that we deeply reflect on how to liberate science and scientific research from falling into the trap of unconstrained discovery, devoid of any regulation. And we must remain mindful of our responsibility toward all of humanity.

That is why it was essential for the WISE Summit to convene this time, with the theme ‘Human Values at the Heart of Education’ This topic raises some fundamental and complex questions about education: its curricula, methodologies, environment, and the relationships among its stakeholders.

Indeed, it raises fundamental questions: who controls the educational process in today’s world? And who governs the flow of knowledge, and for what purpose? These are questions that arise within a rapidly changing technological context –  one of profound impact.

For example, will artificial intelligence change the processes and quality of education? Will the concept of the ‘classroom’ in schools and the ‘lecture hall’ in universities come to an end? Could this lead to the release of the educational process from being confined to a specific physical space? Could artificial intelligence provide a new form of education in which the need for collective learning diminishes– or disappears entirely– replaced by individualized learning that addresses the differences from one person to another?

We do not have the luxury to wait for artificial intelligence to provide the answers to these questions and many others like them, instead, we must boldly engage with them, and craft solutions, proposing our own vision of education in light of these rapid and continuous changes.

Artificial intelligence, which today is considered by some in scientific circles as a threat to human existence and to truth as we know it, presents a real challenge in terms its effects on the educational process. This is an issue that requires thorough study and close examination to reach outcomes that transform artificial intelligence from a feared curse into a welcomed blessing.

Today’s world, for all the abundance of opportunities for a good life that have been made possible by education, is also at risk of creating a world in which humans lose their freedoms, and perhaps even their humanity, because of what unfettered science has been able to produce. Here lies the great paradox.

Ladies and gentlemen.

By placing human values at the heart of the educational process, we embark on a restoration project, both for science and for humanity: for science, by ensuring it does not become a force for harm; and for humanity, by reclaiming the essence of our humanity and dignity.

Our shared commitment: an education that strengthens the values of truth, justice, and beauty. And our ultimate goal: a science in service to humanity– science that liberates, not enslaves.

Wishing you all a successful summit.