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DUBAI: Global government leaders have been urged to provide a safe space for the private sector to innovate while regulating the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

The advice and warnings were delivered during sessions held at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

Hiro Mizunu, the founder and CEO of Good Steward Partners, pointed out the disparity between policymaking and the need for innovative private-sector firms to follow agile short-term goals.

He said: “Rather than policymakers promoting a strategy on economy or industry growth, they should allow tech companies to do their best and compete at faster speed.”

But he warned against policies slowing down the progress of the private sector and noted that consistent policy changes hindered proper business strategies.

“Governments must set policy so companies can adjust strategy. What’s happening now is that investors cannot have long-term view because governments keep changing policies,” Mizunu added.

The chief executive highlighted the need for policymakers to support the private sector in serving critical issues such as climate change, while also encouraging public-private partnerships in integrating sustainability climate action into the curricula of business schools and academic institutions.

He said: “From an investor perspective, governments are trying to introduce zero-emissions economy and climate policies, but how many countries have promised commitment to the climate policy of zero emissions until 2050? Very few countries.”

Nick Studer, president and CEO of Oliver Wyman, noted the role that advisers could play in helping government clients, especially in democratic societies, to develop long-term policies.

He said: “Data presentation and analysis of data with integrity can be helpful at unlocking issues with establishing long-term policies.”

He pointed out the key problems of the internal structure of governments, urging cross-ministerial work before logistical planning when setting national visions.

“We go from vision setting to detailed planning too quickly without identifying and resolving the contradictions between, for example, political and environment sustainability. These policies are then given out to two different ministries,” he added.

Studer told session attendees that he was optimistic about the acceleration of AI, adding that the new technology would have a “transformative enhancement of human work.”

He said: “For our business, it’s a tool that will allow us to access more data and refine that and partner it with our experience to present the data in transformative moments for clients.”

Jon Oringer, founder and executive chairman of Shutterstock, warned of the threat that AI posed to intellectual property and the need for more regulations.

He said: “Copyright laws have not adapted yet to the rapid growth of technologies. We want to make sure creators still own IP licenses.”

He noted that while tech advancements made it difficult to confirm whether a work was 100 percent original, the platform Shutterstock still paid for the creators.

Despite the situation regarding IP laws, Oringer pointed out that creators needed to have the option to opt out.

Shutterstock produces seven new images per second and 100 million assets a year.

The sessions held on the first day of the WGS — that brings together world leaders, private companies, and international organizations to develop solutions for emerging challenges — were moderated by Faisal J. Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News.