In an Age of Rapid Falsehood, Universities and Experts Explore How Intelligence Can Protect Truth

A dialogue at Umm Al Qaiwain University brings together cybersecurity officials, police leadership and artificial intelligence specialists to examine the role of smart technologies in detecting misinformation during times of crisis.

When a crisis strikes, the appetite for information becomes urgent and the time for careful verification shrinks. This paradox sits at the heart of modern information challenges, and it was the subject of a thoughtful dialogue organised by students at Umm Al Qaiwain University as part of their graduation project titled “Truth in Times of Crisis: From Rumor to Smart Response”.

The session brought together a distinguished group of officials and specialists: Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government; Brigadier-General Abdullah bin Salman Al Nuaimi, Deputy Director of the Operations Department at Ras Al Khaimah Police General Command; media professionals Saeed Rashid Al Shehhi and Mohammed Al Ahmad; and Isa Al Manaei, a researcher at TRENDS specialising in artificial intelligence. Their discussion centred on the mounting challenges posed by rumours and misinformation during crises, and the potential of intelligent systems to detect and counter them.

Isa Al Manaei traced the evolution of artificial intelligence systems, explaining how they have moved far beyond simple question answering. Today’s technologies can search across multiple sources, generate text, images and video, and perform complex tasks with a degree of autonomy. These capabilities offer genuine promise: they can accelerate work, sharpen analytical efficiency and support decision-makers, journalists and researchers in their daily practice.

Yet this same technological power creates a paradox. The ease and low cost of producing realistic digital content means misleading material can now be crafted more readily than ever. More troubling still is the velocity of spread. Information travels through social media networks at a pace that outstrips the capacity of authorities and media organisations to verify or correct it. In crisis moments, when public hunger for news intensifies and patience for verification thins, this challenge becomes acute.

Al Manaei emphasised the importance of cultivating what might be called a culture of intellectual caution: checking the publisher of information, comparing claims against official sources, treating emotionally charged content with particular care, and never accepting outputs from artificial intelligence systems as final without human review. At the same time, he noted that AI itself can assist in this protective work, helping to detect suspicious patterns, analyse how rumours spread, and support rapid responses, provided that human judgement remains central to all decisions.

The discussion reflected broader conversations about the relationship between technology, truth and institutional responsibility. As universities like Abu Dhabi University have explored in their recent work on pedagogical innovation for an AI-driven future, the challenge of preparing citizens and professionals to navigate an information landscape reshaped by intelligent systems remains urgent. TRENDS Research & Advisory, which participated in the dialogue, has itself strengthened its capacity to address these questions through growing global academic partnerships.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

The conversation underscores a critical truth for the UAE: as the nation continues to embrace technological innovation and digital transformation, the protection of information integrity becomes a shared responsibility across government, media, academia and civil society. When crises occur, the speed with which accurate information reaches the public directly affects public confidence and collective wellbeing.

This dialogue, organised by students in the College of Mass Communication, signals the preparation of a new generation of media professionals, researchers and communicators who understand both the power and the peril of the digital age. Their education in these questions ensures that the UAE’s approach to information governance remains thoughtful, human-centred and grounded in the defence of truth.

Source: WAM