Events That Changed Life

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There are events that change the fate of humanity and human life: there is the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, and then came the development of technology, passing through electricity, telegraph, radio, television, then the internet, and after that the mobile phone which almost accompanied every person until artificial intelligence came to us. We have read about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Until I watched a lecture by the famous American political analyst Fareed Zakaria.

The summary of his speech at Bard College's graduation ceremony in 2026 focused on a fundamental question imposed by the rapid spread of artificial intelligence: What will remain distinctive and unique in humans when machines become more capable of analysis, calculation, writing, and technical creativity?

Zakaria believes that the answer does not lie in trying to compete with artificial intelligence in speed or efficiency, but in rediscovering what he calls HI – Human Intelligence. Human beings are not just less efficient calculating machines than computers; the human brain, despite its small size and limited energy consumption, can understand context, emotions, intentions, irony, love, fear, and embarrassment, and can read social situations in a way that remains highly complex for machines.

He emphasizes that artificial intelligence can write a sad poem, but it cannot feel sadness; it can write a love letter, but it cannot fall in love. Here lies the importance of lived human experience; consciousness, memory, relationships, emotions, and ethics are not just data that can be processed mathematically.

This meaning extends to art and creativity. The value of a novel, a painting, or music does not only stem from the quality of the final product, but from our knowledge that a human lived, experienced, suffered, hoped, and then expressed that in a work of art. This is why humans sometimes celebrate imperfection and incompleteness; handmade work, irregular pottery, and the Japanese art of repairing fractures, Kintsugi, are all examples that flaws can give things their beauty, authenticity, and value.

From here, Zakaria warns that the real danger of artificial intelligence is not that machines become more human-like, but that humans try to become more like machines: obsessed with efficiency, productivity, continuous improvement, and turning their lives into numbers and performance indicators. A meaningful human life is not always perfect, organized, or efficient; rather, it is often contradictory, emotional, and unpredictable.

He points out that the greatest human qualities grow in the face of weakness and difficulties. A person does not become valuable because they are without flaws, but because experiences, pain, and failure can generate empathy, creativity, wisdom, resilience, and beauty. Zakaria believes that artificial intelligence will change medicine, science, education, transportation, communication, and most professions, but humans will still need other humans: to teach their children, to comfort them in pain, to lead them in crises, and to create art that expresses their human condition. In his view, the essence of life is human relationships and the pursuit of appreciation, dignity, affection, and love.

His message to the graduates ends with a clear piece of advice

Cultivate common sense, not just the accumulation of information. Wisdom, not just experience. Courage, not just self-confidence. Build friendships and communities, and learn trust, tolerance, and laughter. Artificial intelligence should be used to treat diseases, expand knowledge, and increase productivity, but without losing what makes us human. The great value of the future will not lie in perfect intelligence, but in imperfect humanity with its imagination, inspiration, compassion, love, and human connection.

As Zakaria concludes his thought: Our flaws are not mistakes in the code; rather, they are the cracks through which light enters.

Quoted from "Al-Masry Al-Youm"