Recommendations for AI in Gulf Digital Humanities

Fresquet Xavier, David Joseph Wrisley, Proscovia Svärd, Nicolas CATELAN, Sabrina Moura

Keywords: Digital Humanities, Gulf Region, Large Language Models, Ethics and Representation, Algorithmic Bias, Data Sovereignty, Oral Traditions, Regulatory Frameworks, Multilingual AI

TL;DR: This paper outlines a framework for ethically and locally grounded AI in Gulf digital humanities, emphasizing community co-authorship, cultural specificity, and responsible innovation.

Abstract:

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in cultural heritage and digital humanities urgently
raises questions of ethics, representation, and technological sovereignty, especially in the especially
on the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region. This region, at the intersection of ambitious AI investments
and deeply rooted cultural traditions, offers a distinctive yet underexamined context for exploring how
institutions and communities can responsibly harness generative technologies. Drawing on
interdisciplinary evidence and case studies from institutions across the Gulf, this paper critically
examines the promises and perils of AI in Gulf heritage initiatives. It highlights challenges such as
algorithmic bias, misrepresentation of oral and performative traditions, regulatory ambiguity, and the
risk of epistemic erasure. Rather than treating heritage as static data for computational extraction, we
argue for AI development that is community-driven, legally attuned, and culturally grounded. We
propose ten actionable recommendations within a framework that positions the Gulf not simply as a
consumer of global AI trends, but as a potential norm-setter for ethically aligned, pluralistic, and
socially embedded AI.

Submission Number: 371