The UAE's Artificial Intelligence Minister and Will.i.am Explaining Why We're Ready For A.I. Might Just Change Your Mind

Fighting poverty with #ArtificialIntelligence: Rapper turned philanthropist @iamwill tells me A.I. could change the lives of inner city youth. #WEF18 pic.twitter.com/lPAB7l8PDn

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) January 24, 2018

If Saudi Arabia's Sophia the Robot getting a passport freaks you out, fear not, because artificial intelligence is a good thing according to will.i.am. The 42-year-old appeared on CNN this week as news came that the UAE is training 500 people in A.I. and when asked by the host what he's most excited about, you'll probably agree with his points.

"Educating the youth in inner cities and poverty stricken areas so they can be the dreamers with this tool in the future," Will told CNN's Abu Dhabi-based Becky Anderson while on location in Switzerland. "I truly believe that the jobs we can't imagine will come tomorrow and they're going to come from the people who are not a part of job creation today. They're going to be solving needs, not wants."

When asked what he thinks of people who are concerned about the development of A.I. and where it could take us (you only have to watch one episode of Black Mirror to be scared really), he hinted that those people might as well have been living under a rock their whole lives.

"If it's too much too quickly that means you weren't paying attention this whole time. It's right on time."

The Black Eyed Peas hitmaker went on to compare the fear of new A.I developments to how society was reluctant about the advent of the Internet and other major elements of our lives today that we almost couldn't live without.

Is the world ready for the age of #ArtificialIntelligence? @iamwill thinks so, but says governments aren’t doing enough to educate youth on how to use it as a tool for good. #WEF18 pic.twitter.com/3vJ0BPnOn4

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) January 24, 2018

"I'm an optimist and I believe in humanity we've been through this before…" he began. "When it came to electricity being in the house we were afraid of electricity but look how it's brightened up our world, look how it's connected us."

He did admit that more money could be going to educating less fortunate people though, a sentiment the UAE's Artificially Intelligence Minister, Omar Sultan AlOlama, seemed to agree with as he nodded along.

"I'm concerned about the investment of artificially intelligence compared to the investments of human intelligence. Governments of the world are not educating the youth to be able to address this growing industry so they can help solve the world's problems alongside this tool."

The United Arab Emirates seems to be at the cutting edge of developments at the moment and despite it being a small country, there's a big reason why it's leading the way.

"Every single discussion we've seen so far has been theoretical. This is what we should do. No one actually went and put something on the ground. We are the first country that did that," AlOlama explained, adding that the UAE has also instigated a policy so other countries can collaborate.

"We are the first country who did that. We can at least put our money where our mouth is."

The world’s first minister of #ArtificialIntelligence @OmarSAlolama explains why the UAE is ahead of the game when it comes to AI. pic.twitter.com/nd4xDJwjKY

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) January 24, 2018