Artificial intelligence could play the same transformative economic role in the 21st-Century that oil played during the industrial age, argues Ulugbek Mirzamukhamedov, who believes human morality and judgement must guide its development and that Uzbekistan has an opportunity to become a leading force in the AI era

Humanity stands on the threshold of one of its greatest achievements: the creation of fully self-sufficient artificial intelligence. Even today, advanced AI models are participating in the production and improvement of their own successors. In this sense, technological singularity is on the verge of becoming a reality.

Yet many people continue to doubt AI as an effective instrument of knowledge and discovery, and few even consider the possibility that it may one day operate independently of human oversight. There are many reasons for this: the inertia of human thinking, legitimate concerns, and, in some cases, apocalyptic visions popularised by science fiction writers and futurists.

This scepticism is reinforced by the limited way in which many people still understand the technology. Chatbots based on large language models (LLMs) are often seen simply as text generators or sophisticated search engines, with criticism continuing to focus on the ‘hallucinations’ produced by earlier systems.

Such arguments frequently overlook both how far AI has advanced in a relatively short period and the broad consensus among experts that humanity is approaching a new technological transition.

“Carbon gives rise to biological intelligence in the human brain, and silicon now provides the basis for artificial intelligence.”

The history of humanity is the history of technology. From the plough to modern agribusiness, from stones heated by a campfire to hydroelectric power stations, technological progress reflects the development of human society and, as some thinkers have argued, transforms society itself.

Today, the revolutionary development of AI is giving rise to a new form of intelligence – a meta-technology that may, in the foreseeable future, operate without continuous human supervision. For the first time, intelligence and cognition are ceasing to be exclusively biological phenomena generated by the human brain. A fundamentally new form of creative activity is emerging – a Cognitive Civilisation. The scale of this revolution is comparable to discovering a second foundation for intelligence. Carbon gives rise to biological intelligence in the human brain, and silicon now provides the basis for AI.

In a certain sense, what is taking place may be described as an evolutionary leap – a qualitative transformation that raises the overall level of organisation. Of course, the comparison with evolution is merely an analogy, since artificial intelligence is not driven by the same forces that govern biological evolution. Strictly speaking, evolution is a biological phenomenon. Yet terms of this magnitude are increasingly appropriate for describing the significance of advances in AI.

“In this new world, human beings will remain indispensable as a source of spiritual and moral guidance.”

“I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me.”

This famous pop culture quote captures the future relationship between humanity and AI with remarkable accuracy. Just as steam engines replaced manual labour and animal power during the Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence will, in the coming decades, replace human involvement across an entire range of activities.

In the 21st-Century, intelligence, computing power and data will become the primary productive forces of society. The economic model itself will undergo profound transformation. New macroeconomic indicators may emerge, allowing nations to measure what could be described as their ‘cognitive wealth’.

At the same time, an ever-greater share of global intellectual output will be generated by AI. In the foreseeable future, it will master long-term planning, develop the ability to formulate goals, create new technologies and manage organisations of increasing complexity. Superintelligence will emerge – an intelligence whose cognitive capabilities surpass those of humanity itself.

This will lead to a level of technological progress previously unimaginable. Achievements that once required decades will take only months. The volume of new knowledge will grow relentlessly. The only remaining constraints will be computing capacity and available energy.

In this new world, human beings will remain indispensable as a source of spiritual and moral guidance. Wisdom, morality and our understanding of good and evil are rooted, to varying degrees, in human biology and lived experience. For that reason, they cannot be fully transferred to AI.

An artificial mind may be capable of applying the law to convict a criminal who has taken another person’s life. Yet as a non-living entity in the biological sense, it cannot fully comprehend either the value of life or the fear of death. AI does not know poverty, hunger, thirst, envy, jealousy, stubbornness, exhaustion, self-sacrifice, fear, joy, happiness or love. These experiences have always accompanied humanity and always will, because they arise from human biological nature. Stanisław Lem explored this idea in his science-fiction novel Fiasco, in which a priest travels aboard the spacecraft Eurydice on an interstellar expedition. Serving as both a physician and a moral adviser, he reflects the enduring need for human conscience and ethical judgement, even in a world governed by highly intelligent machines.

Artificial intelligence does not seek to replace humanity as such, nor will it be able to do so. Contrary to popular fears, it has no need to conquer the world, for it is not driven by pride and possesses no ambitions. At the same time, it represents a living superintelligence that can and should be employed in the interests and for the benefit of all humankind.

“In the century ahead, artificial intelligence may become the new oil.”

The emergence of AI as a Superintelligence will become one of the defining milestones in human history. Future historians will give this process a name and write it with a capital letter, just as we today write of the Renaissance. In this new era, many nations will be presented with opportunities for leadership, including countries that could not previously be counted among the leaders of the industrial age.

Uzbekistan may be one of those countries. A nation with a rich and ancient history, located deep within the Eurasian continent and without direct access to the sea, Uzbekistan possesses a unique combination of circumstances that could allow it to assume a leading role in the 21st-Century. The country has everything required for this: a young and growing population, a strategic geographical position and an energetic commitment to digital transformation.

Such a view may appear overly optimistic. History, however, suggests otherwise.

As recently as the first half of the 20th-Century, Saudi Arabia was a poor desert country with a semi-tribal social structure. Yet by the beginning of the following century, it had become a powerful state with modern infrastructure and numerous ambitious projects, some of which have no equivalents anywhere else in the world.

Saudi Arabia owes much of its success to oil, the lifeblood of the industrial economy.

In the century ahead, artificial intelligence may become the new oil. And Uzbekistan, whose leadership is already investing significant effort in this field, possesses every opportunity to emerge as one of the world’s leaders in the AI era.

A clear understanding of the challenges of the age, an awareness of this historic opportunity, responsibility before one’s own history and a determination to improve people’s lives – these are the qualities that will help Uzbekistan and other nations achieve their goals. Everything needed for this is already in place.

Forward into the future.

Ulugbek Mirzamukhamedov is an international investor and entrepreneur with experience across manufacturing, property, insurance, venture capital and sustainable development. He began his career in the mid-1990s and later held senior roles with Alubond Composite Material, Roison Electronics, Murad Buildings Company and Renaissance Investment. He is a co-founder of the Semurg ecosystem, which operates across insurance, logistics, development, venture capital and a portfolio of ESG-focused initiatives. His work includes Semurg Insurance, Semurg VC and Eco Carbon Services, with a focus on innovation, sustainability and long-term economic development in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. He is also an advocate for investment in technology, local talent and human capital as drivers of future regional growth.

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_{Main Image: Ulugbek Mirzamukhamedov. Credit: Supplied.}