UNESCO CHAIR For Inter-Religious Dialogue Studies in The Islamic World
Dr. Alaa Shatnan, Director of the UNESCO Chair at the University of Kufa, took part in the online symposium entitled:
“Futures Dialogue: Artificial Intelligence and Culture”
convened by UNESCO in collaboration with its Culture Sector on Wednesday, the 18th of March 2026, bringing together a distinguished constellation of academics and international experts drawn from UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN networks across the globe.
The symposium cast its gaze upon the profound and sweeping transformations that generative artificial intelligence has unleashed upon the cultural landscape — the opportunities it heralds and the formidable challenges it poses to the very essence of human creativity and cultural rights. Participants deliberated upon the dimensions of the United Nations report issued in October 2025, which examined technology’s far-reaching impact on contemporary cultural practices, sounding the alarm over the perils of algorithmic bias and the homogenisation of cultural content.
Principal Objectives and Recommendations of the Symposium:
∙ Envisioning the Future: A rigorous examination of artificial intelligence’s reverberations upon cultural diversity and the safeguarding of digital heritage.
∙ Protecting the Creators: An emphatic affirmation of the urgent need to forge regulatory frameworks that guarantee fair remuneration for artists and uphold their economic and social rights within the digital sphere.
∙ Championing Plurality: A fervent call upon public policy to champion multilingual cultural content and ensure equitable access to technology for all peoples and communities.
∙ Technological Transparency: A resolute insistence upon the transparency of artificial intelligence systems, so that automated models may not encroach upon nor erode the distinctive particularities of local cultural identities.
The session drew to a close with a resounding affirmation: that artificial intelligence must remain an instrument in the service of human creativity — never its supplanter — and that an unwavering commitment to the Global Digital Compact is indispensable, ensuring that the cultural rights of all humanity are preserved, honoured, and protected for generations yet to come.
