As soon as the government announced the launch of “Farah,” a digital spokesperson service described as one of its digital communication tools, a broad wave of mockery and criticism erupted—as though the initiative had already undergone extensive testing, been proven a failure, and all that remained was to issue its death certificate.
Minister of Government Communications and Government Spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Al-Momani described “Farah” as a pioneering idea. But many people did not wait to find out whether it actually was. The verdict was delivered before the experiment had even been given enough time to determine what it could do, where it might fail, and how it could be improved.
People have every right to criticize the government. They have the right to question the cost, feasibility and priorities of any project, and to demand that technology serve as a tool to improve their lives rather than merely a modern façade for institutions that continue to operate in the same old ways. But criticism is one thing; prejudging an initiative is another.
Part of the problem with our public discourse is that we call for modernization and then mock some of its tools when they actually appear. We talk about the need to keep pace with artificial intelligence, yet when one of its applications enters a government institution, we treat it as a subject of ridicule.
Let “Farah” operate first, and then judge it. If it turns out that it provides no real value, we should say so clearly. If it is merely a technological showcase, people have every right to ask why money was spent on it. But judging a digital experiment a failure simply because it seems unfamiliar or strange to us says less about the experiment itself than it does about our own relationship with change.
More importantly, “Farah” is not really the issue. The real issue is that its emergence offers a clear indication that Jordan, like the rest of the world, is entering an era of “functional digitalization”—a stage that is very different from the digitalization we have been discussing for years.
We used to talk about converting paper-based transactions into electronic ones, paying bills by phone, and obtaining documents and government services without having to visit an institution in person. What is happening today is much deeper. Technology is no longer simply digitizing the transaction; it is beginning to enter the job itself and perform tasks that were previously carried out by people.
This is where we should be concerned—not about “Farah,” but about how prepared we are for what lies ahead.
Artificial intelligence will not stop at a digital spokesperson, nor will it remain confined to a government institution. It will be present in media, banking, education, medicine, law, accounting, engineering, commerce, customer service and dozens of other sectors.
Within a few years, artificial intelligence will reshape and redefine many of the jobs we know today. So, are we preparing our children for the labor market symbolized by “Farah”? Are our universities still preparing students for jobs in the same way they did ten years ago? Are our children learning how to use artificial intelligence, or are they merely using it to complete their assignments?
Are we teaching them how to think, analyze, verify information and solve problems, or are we still measuring their abilities by the amount of information they can memorize?
That is the real battle.
The government, for its part, should not regard the launch of “Farah” as an achievement in itself. The achievement begins when the service proves its value. After a period of operation, we need to know what it has accomplished: Has it improved access to government information? Has it saved time and effort? What can it offer that traditional tools cannot?
We can judge modern experiments by their results—not by applause or ridicule.
“Farah” may succeed, or it may fail. But experimentation itself should not frighten us, because countries that fear experimentation will not be able to keep pace with a world changing at astonishing speed.
And perhaps the most important thing “Farah” has offered us so far is a small glimpse of the future.
