Iraq has begun implementing a project to digitally preserve its historical heritage.

 Iraq has begun implementing a project to digitally preserve its historical heritage.

May 16, 2025  Erbil - Amjad Nasser  The Prime Minister's advisor for artificial intelligence, Diaa Al-Jumaili, confirmed that Iraq has begun implementing distinctive projects using modern technology, such as the project to digitally preserve historical heritage using digital scanning and 3D printing techniques.

 This is used to preserve shrines, manuscripts, and historical buildings, enabling their recovery in the event of their loss due to natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.

Sustainable Development

He added to Al-Zaman during the eighth international scientific conference of the Union of Arab Statisticians, held in cooperation with Tishk University in Erbil, under the theme (The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Effective Statistics to Achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), that “an Iraqi team used 3D printing to redesign an old turbine that generates electricity in the Haditha Dam, which reflects the use of artificial intelligence in preserving infrastructure. 

In addition to cultural heritage, old books are being converted into digital copies that can be read and analyzed, in a step towards digital documentation of historical and intellectual content. 

This also confirms that every revolution has brought about a change in the type of skills required, but it did not eliminate job opportunities, but rather changed their nature.

For example, the First Industrial Revolution, which was associated with the steam engine, raised concerns among those whose professions depended on horses, but it created new jobs in fields such as coal mining and iron smelting. 

This analogy justifies present-day fears of artificial intelligence, but calls for understanding it as a tool for positive change for those with the appropriate skills. 

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, unlike its predecessors, will activate new roles based on talent.” Philosophy and cognitive depth, and an example of this is the well-known Iraqi doctor (Alaa Bashir), who combined medicine and art (being a sculptor and painter), which made him a model for the multiplicity of skills required by this stage).

Cultural Heritage

He also pointed out that (unfortunately, some Arab societies, especially the poor ones, do not deal with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and this is due to the lack of training and weak qualification in the fields of modern technology, while Iraq has greatly excelled in this field, especially after the decision of Prime Minister Eng. Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, to introduce artificial intelligence and use it in ministries and institutions. 

My role as a volunteer consultant for artificial intelligence and education in Iraq, I do not receive a salary, but I sometimes spend from my own money because I find great pleasure and benefit in it, expressing my belief that Iraq has a huge cultural and artistic heritage that the West can learn about, 

and Iraq, after consuming Western content, needs to highlight its own content of texts, plays and arts, because Iraq excels in visual arts compared to many countries in the world, which is an indication of the depth and richness of the local creative environment).

He also stressed the importance of respecting linguistic and cultural diversity in Iraq, and the need to involve children in learning different languages ​​from an early age. The Kurdish language contains about 200,000 words, while the Arabic language contains about 12.5 million. 

This is a rich cultural resource that should not create division, but rather cultural integration. We see this cultural diversity in Iraqi events, such as weddings that include Kurds and Arabs from different regions. 

This diversity is considered a source of generative artificial intelligence, because it nourishes creativity and innovation through different references and backgrounds.   LINK