
AUB President Fadlo Khuri elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
'Dr. Khuri joins an esteemed group of leaders recognized for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of education, policy and leadership in the academic sphere,' Kadifa said.
In response to the news, Khuri remarked, 'I am particularly proud to have been nominated by Board Chair Emeritus Philip S. Khoury for work we have all done together over the last decade at AUB.'
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780 by, among others, John Adams, James Bowdoin, and John Hancock. Its first elected class included U.S. President George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. "This company is humbling," said Khuri. "My mother will no doubt be thrilled that I was elected in the same class as Gloria Steinem, one of her heroes and one of feminism's greatest champions.'
'Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, the 16th president of the American University of Beirut, has been a transformative leader since assuming office in 2015. Under his guidance, AUB has navigated significant challenges, including economic crises, the Beirut explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic, while achieving remarkable milestones such as the reintroduction of academic tenure, the establishment of AUB Online, and the launch of AUB Mediterraneo, the university's first twin campus outside Lebanon," said Kadifa
'Since 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has honored excellence and convened leaders from across disciplines and divides to examine new ideas, address issues of importance, and work together 'to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people,'' he continued.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences President Laurie L. Patton commented on the academy's newest class: 'These new members' accomplishments speak volumes about the human capacity for discovery, creativity, leadership, and persistence. They are a stellar testament to the power of knowledge to broaden our horizons and deepen our understanding.'
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Ya Libnan
02-08-2025
- Ya Libnan
Trump fires US labour statistics chief after dismal employment report
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on August 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. © Win McNamee, AFP President Donald Trump on Friday said that he was firing the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics after a jobs report showed weakening employment. According to data from the Labor Department, job growth in July fell short of expectations, and recent revisions to hiring numbers showed the weakest employment gains since the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington- President Trump said Friday he has ordered the firing of a key economic official, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons after a new report showed cracks in the US jobs market. US job growth missed expectations in July, Labour Department data showed, and revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them to the weakest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic. Without providing evidence, Trump lashed out at the department's commissioner of labour statistics, writing on social media that the jobs numbers 'were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad'. In a separate post on his Truth Social platform, he charged that Commissioner Erika McEntarfer had 'faked' jobs data to boost Democrats' chances of victory in the recent presidential election. 'McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months,' Trump said, referring to latest data for July. 'Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative,' Trump said, insisting that the world's biggest economy was 'booming' under his leadership. He later told reporters 'we need people that we can trust', accusing the economic official of inflating hiring figures under former president Joe Biden 's administration. 'Trump is tightening his grip on American economic policy and institutions' 'Dangerous precedent The United States added 73,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent, said the Department of Labour earlier Friday. Hiring numbers for May were revised down from 144,000 to 19,000. The figure for June was shifted from 147,000 to 14,000. This was notably lower than job creation levels in recent years. During the pandemic, the economy lost jobs. The employment data points to challenges in the key labor market as companies took a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump's sweeping – and rapidly changing – tariffs this year. The numbers also pile pressure on the central bank as it mulls the best time to cut interest rates . With tariff levels climbing since the start of the year, both on imports from various countries and on sector-specific products such as steel , aluminum and autos, many firms have faced higher business costs. Some are now passing them along to consumers. William Beach, who previously held McEntarfer post at the Bureau of Labour Statistics, warned that her firing 'sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau'. The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) condemned her dismissal, saying large revisions in jobs numbers 'reflect not manipulation, but rather the dwindling resources afforded to statistical agencies'. 'Firing the head of a key government agency because you don't like the numbers they report, which come from surveys using long established procedures, is what happens in authoritarian countries, not democratic ones,' slammed Larry Summers, former US Treasury secretary under Democratic president Bill Clinton. 'Game changer' Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, said Friday's jobs report was a 'gamechanger'. 'The labor market is deteriorating quickly,' said Long, noting that of the growth in July, '75 percent of those jobs were in one sector: health care.' 'The economy needs certainty soon on tariffs,' Long said. 'The longer this tariff whiplash lasts, the more likely this weak hiring environment turns into layoffs .' It remains unclear when the dust will settle, with Trump ordering the reimposition of steeper tariffs on scores of economies late Thursday, which are set to take effect in a week. A sharp weakening in the labour market could push the Federal Reserve towards slashing interest rates sooner to shore up the economy. On Friday, the two Fed officials who voted this week against the central bank's decision to keep rates unchanged warned that standing pat risks further damaging the economy. Both Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller argued that the inflationary effects of tariffs were temporary. They added in separate statements that the bank should focus on fortifying the economy to avert further weakening in the labor market. Putting off an interest rate cut 'could result in a deterioration in the labor market and a further slowing in economic growth', Bowman said. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)


L'Orient-Le Jour
25-07-2025
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Tech alone won't save us: Grounding AI in Lebanon's realities
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Lebanon is often misunderstood. Some see it as a magical fix for all of the country's woes, a swift shortcut to bypass the deep reforms or hard work required to build strong institutions. Others see it as an imminent threat to jobs or reduce it to handy tools like text or image generators. The framing of AI as either a threat or a magic wand masks the profound shifts this new technology is bringing about. As thoroughly argued in a new white paper by Dr. Fatima K. Abu Salem from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Dr. Wissam Saade from Saint Joseph University, no technology, no matter how advanced, can ever replace a strong society built on solid institutions, shared values and collective effort. Published as a working paper at AUB's Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, the report is more than just an academic document — it's a manifesto with urgent recommendations to strengthen Lebanon's five-year AI strategy, LEAP, launched by Technology and AI Minister Kamal Shehadeh, who also serves as Minister of the Displaced. LEAP — short for Launch, Apply, Advance, and Promote — is a national roadmap to make Lebanon a regional hub for artificial intelligence within five years. 'We want to integrate the latest technologies to create government services powered by AI,' Shehadeh told L'Orient-Le Jour in April, describing a vision that focuses on improving the efficiency and accuracy of public services. The strategy's first phase aims to establish the legal and institutional foundation, aiming to rank Lebanon among the top 50 AI users worldwide by 2030. "For LEAP to move beyond lofty aspirations, it must confront Lebanon's reality as a 'data desert' facing a 'talent exodus,' and embrace an AI approach co-created with the broader public," Abu Salem told L'Orient Today. Abu Salem and Saade lay the groundwork for a future Sociotechnical Observatory, which would serve as a public space to examine how technology and society interact and to explore new ways of thinking — informed by the local context — about AI in Lebanon's political, social and economic life. Abu Salem and Saade's white paper highlights a key insight: AI isn't just a technical tool; it's a deeply "socio-technical" project. This means that for AI to succeed in Lebanon, strategies for its adoption must allow for "co-evolution," meaning that the technology develops alongside Lebanon's unique local conditions, values and systems. This approach and the resulting recommendations will be discussed at the "AI Retreat in Aley," part of the "AI for Lebanon" conference (July 21-26, 2025). AI models developed elsewhere aren't neutral, and importing them without adaptation won't magically make them fit. Any national strategy must integrate AI into Lebanon's broader social fabric, including its labor market, infrastructure and power dynamics. "Without this deep integration, LEAP risks becoming just another initiative focused on technological adoption rather than sustainable transformation," says Saade. At the heart of this socio-technical approach is Responsible AI (RAI), which involves designing and using AI in ways that are ethical, fair, transparent and aligned with human values. It is supported by Trustworthy Machine Learning (TML), a framework that guarantees AI systems are understandable, secure and capable of adapting to real-world conditions. "TML also emphasizes the importance of having a clear understanding of an AI's level of confidence in its predictions — essential in critical fields like healthcare — and promotes Machine Learning for Small Data, a key method for data-scarce contexts like Lebanon," says Abu Salem. The white paper proposes three main pillars to guide this socio-technical transformation: 'Collective intelligence' reimagines AI not as a surveillance tool but as a way to broaden the scope of what distinct groups can achieve when their data is pooled together, often through crowdsourcing. In Lebanon, this means citizens can act as "human sensors," providing timely, low-cost data that fills institutional gaps and encourages community ownership and inclusion. 'Data democratization' refers to making data accessible and easy to use for everyone in an organization, not just IT or data experts. It's about breaking down barriers so that more people can engage with data and fostering a culture where decisions are based on facts, not just intuition. For LEAP, this would mean moving beyond fragmented, ad-hoc data practices to a scalable and integrated approach that empowers the general public to engage with data. 'Decolonizing AI' challenges Lebanon's dependence on imported AI models, which are shaped by Western values and power structures. The white paper warns against "data colonialism" and "algorithmic coloniality," where local data is exploited and inequality is reinforced. For Abu Salem and Saade, this power dynamic can be addressed by reclaiming control over how data is collected and categorized, as well as by whom it is collected. They also highlight the high energy requirements of large AI systems, which is a serious concern in a country facing severe electricity shortages. That's why the authors advocate for Micro-Model Alternatives: smaller, low-energy AI systems that can operate on basic devices, making AI more sustainable and better aligned with Lebanon's realities. "We want to explore how Lebanon can both create value from AI, through better decision-making, demand prediction and smarter services, and capture it by translating innovation into economic and strategic gains," says Saade. The paper warns that, if misused, AI could harm development, worsen inequality and waste resources. In some cases, traditional, non-digital solutions may be more effective, challenging the tech-first approach that prioritizes flashy projects over genuine impact. It also calls for rethinking human labor: Since AI handles routine tasks, the remaining work will require critical thinking, ethics and adaptability. This shift necessitates updates in labor policy, education and protections for hybrid work arrangements. 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L'Orient-Le Jour
19-07-2025
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanon's poultry sector prepares ambitious growth strategy
The Lebanese Poultry Syndicate organized a conference this week at the American University of Beirut (AUB) to launch the preparations for a "National Strategy for the Poultry Sector," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The conference was attended by the syndicate's president, William Boutros; the Agriculture Minister, Nizar Hani; the Industry Minister, Joe Issa al-Khoury; the Economy and Trade Minister, Amer Bsat; the Director General of the Agriculture Ministry, Engineer Louis Lahoud; the President of the American University of Beirut, Fadlo Khury, among others. During the conference, Boutros stated that "the sector employs about 36,000 people, directly and indirectly, spread over more than 2,000 farms and 60 factories," and produces "about 110 million poultry annually." He said the sector's potential is far from being reached, believing that it can be realized on the ground with this new situation, the new government and the current ministers. "We are going to propose major investments to the private sector in Lebanon, aiming to generate one and a half billion dollars in gross domestic product," he continued. He also said that the government should compensate farmers and poultry producers who have suffered losses as a result of Israeli attacks. Bsat, for his part, said the strategy in question must "create an environment conducive to investment and marketing, both locally and internationally." He added that the Ministry is determined to facilitate internal and external trade by revising bilateral agreements, and to strengthen oversight on points of sale and markets by empowering the monitoring agency to curb fraud, manipulation and ensure fair competition. Issa al-Khoury presented a strategic framework for the development of the industrial poultry sector, drawing inspiration from successful experiences in countries such as Brazil, Turkey, Thailand, the United States and Morocco. This framework is based in particular on securing raw materials, reducing production costs, modernizing manufacturing systems and value chains, as well as supporting cold chain infrastructure, packaging and refrigerated transport, to preserve quality and ensure market access.