As artificial intelligence propels productivity to breakneck speeds, the laborious and frequently sluggish process of engaging with other nations and formulating policies is also compelled to accelerate.

However, a panel at the vanguard of these transformations at the BRIDGE Summit in Abu Dhabi—an event that gathers creators, policymakers, investors, technologists, media organizations, and cultural figures globally to deliberate on the future of media—stated that rapid change is not without repercussions.

Elizabeth Churchill, a professor of Human-Computer Interaction at the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, informed moderator Nikhil Kumar, an executive editor at TIME (a media partner of the BRIDGE Summit), “Decision-makers are being required to make decisions at a rapid pace based on information that may not be verified or verifiable.” Churchill, who held senior positions at companies like Google and Yahoo, mentioned she returned to academia to explore transparent and ‘interrogable’ AI tools and content that is effectively watermarked—so that decision-makers can instantly determine if information is trustworthy.

Churchill noted that current deficiencies in information quality are “very much a design problem inherent in all the tools we use and in the diplomatic discussions that many people engage in.”

The rates at which technologies spread differ across various regions of the world, depending on existing infrastructure. Kallot, who has concentrated on increasing technology access in Africa and the Global South and serves as the CEO and founder of data infrastructure startup Amini, reflected on how the continent still lacks data and how it requires localized data ecosystems to expedite its progress.

“When we think about equity, we need to consider our starting point from a regional perspective and the extent of catch-up needed,” Kallot said.

Perski from Palantir, the Denver-based software firm behind numerous governments’ data-mining systems, stated, “Where these technologies originate and who develops them is also of great significance.” He mentioned he perceives the world could be divided into the AI ecosystems of China and the U.S., but also considered the prospect of a “tripolar” world with the Middle East’s ongoing investments in emerging technologies.

However, for Perski, what is critical is: “How do you take these technologies and apply them to safeguarding people, counterterrorism, and other matters—now, how do you apply them to keeping businesses operational and competing in a global ecosystem? And this truly pertains to how these technologies align with the real world.”

Palantir’s Perski, reflecting on the company’s global footprint, stated that technological advancements must learn to be localized. “A great deal of this hinges on culture,” he said. “How open is a culture to disruption?”

Kallot further stated that developers in Silicon Valley should also address any biases or narratives regarding the Global South, facilitating these regions’ adaptation of technologies such as AI. “Africa should not be an afterthought for them,” she stated.

More broadly, though, discussions on emerging technologies should center on value systems and enhanced literacy, as noted by Churchill, which will strengthen human oversight.

She stated, “If we do not speak out and engage in governance and policy-making, and if individuals and groups do not get involved, then we are also responsible for issues of inequity, inequality, and some of the perilous potential of AI systems.”