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Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) hosted today a colloquium to shed light on artificial intelligence in the era of transhumanism in response to growing enthusiasm for scientific research and digital transformation among Moroccan youth in recent years.
Themed “transhumanism, human enhancement: utopia or nightmare?,” the colloquium comes as part of UM6P’s “Week of Science” event held from May 28 to June 5 in the university’s two campuses of Laayoune and Benguerir.
“Transhumanism” refers to a movement devoted to promoting the research and development of robust human-enhancement technologies.
With transhumanism becoming an increasingly powerful concept worldwide, Morocco has embarked on a journey to keep up with the rapid pace of emerging technology and ways to introduce them in education.
The 2022 Science Week is also marked by the celebration of the bicentenary of Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist and one of the pioneer founders of medical microbiology.
This year’s edition comes, as UM6P’s President Hicham El Habti recalled, in a context where science has proven that it is essential to save humanity. El Habti considers this evidence to be reflected in the work of the eminent Pasteur, whose work was highlighted during the first two days of the event.
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With an aim of reshaping education in Morocco and across Africa, the UM6P put technology and science at the forefront of its work. This policy has enabled the university to establish several programs focused on robotic research, machine learning, computer science, and artificial intelligence in a time span of five years.
Although artificial intelligence threatens human autonomy, El Habti argued that it has enhanced the effectiveness of human efforts. He emphasizes that it both makes life easier and promises a potential tool for solving some of the world’s most critical challenges such as improving wildlife conservation and detecting epidemics and outbreaks.
“If transhumanism is becoming more and more a contentious topic, it is because the technology has now reached a turning point in its development,” he said.
Technologization and artificialization
Ever since renowned experts worldwide began exploring the potential of biotechnology, human life expectancy has increased over the last century.
According to statistics from the US National Institute on Aging, the average life expectancy for babies born in 1900 was only 47 years, but in 1998, it had risen to 79 years.
In recent decades, many medical and tech-driven businesses have invented state-of-the-art technology to enable people to live longer and healthier, while also increasing the world’s understanding of biology.
That said, El Habti pointed out that through the “Week of Science,” panelists and experts will elucidate scientific approaches related to the ethics of transhumanism, the “post-human era,” and machine learning.
The objective is to acquaint the audience, consisting mainly of students, with the latest scientific advances in their respective fields and prepare them for world-class, practical, and socially relevant research.
French writer and economic and social theorist Jacques Attali delivered a presentation about the “ethics of human artificialization,” a concept which results from urbanization and the expansion of infrastructure.
In a statement to Morocco World News, Attali raised concerns about the artificialization of soils since the change in land use can be “of a great risk and can be damaging to the environment and agriculture. ”
Thereby, artificialization and technical progress sometimes have extremely positive sides but there are dangerous derivatives that can lead to disasters, he added. Attali emphasized the need to focus on recovery efforts of key sectors including health, education, and renewable energy within the framework of what he calls “the economy of life.”
Digital transformation in education
As teaching has rapidly evolved in recent times, especially during national lockdowns and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Morocco appears to have understood the importance of being equipped with advanced technologies and sped up the adoption of digital tools and platforms.
Speaking at the opening of the colloquium, Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Abdellatif Miraoui expressed his hope to see similar events held in all Moroccan universities to further raise awareness about the importance of science.
Generation Z and Alpha are not only climbing a longer academic ladder, but they are also disrupting old-fashioned learning methods in higher education, by emphasizing more on visual-learning and hands-on experience.
Aware of the importance of digital learning, Minister Miraoui spoke on the importance of “adapting artificial intelligence in pedagogical activities to allow young people to learn faster in a different sitting, while also providing teachers with the tools needed to improve their teaching methods.”
Like elsewhere, Moroccan professors have also had to go through different types of teaching during the pandemic, ranging from in-person, to online classes, and hybrid versions.
Although the system still needs improvement to close the gap between Morocco and developed nations in terms of technology-based education, Miraoui remains positive about the ongoing evolution the country is experiencing to accelerate digital transformation.
With a focus on shifting existing teaching-learning practices, the Moroccan minister highlighted that the country has put the use of digital technology in schools among its priorities through the National Plan to Accelerate the Transformation of the Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Ecosystem (ESRI 2030 PACT).
Morocco has invested millions of dollars in AI-based solutions and tech-solutions, and implemented several other initiatives to digitize the work of not only the education sector, but also healthcare, automotive, renewable energy, and public administrations.
The kingdom appears to be preparing itself for a new scientific and innovative era, and strives to provide young Moroccan leaders and scientists with the latest technology to become world-class professionals in their respective fields.
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