Reflecting on everything that we have covered so far in this course, I feel that my understanding of many topics has improved a lot because of this course and I have definitely benefited from it intellectually and personally. Starting off with one of the very first assignments which is the video by Mays Imad video linked here Links to an external site. Watching this video was honestly a very good starting point for this course and it was really helpful to know that there are instructors and professors that care about their students’ well being just as much as they care about their academic performance, because I honestly feel that having understanding professors really is a huge part of a beneficial and healthy learning environment.

Secondly, I realized how some characteristics can outweigh some other characteristics in a person’s identity, at least in the eyes of other people. I mainly understood this after watching the video “The danger of a single story”, and also after applying this to the game we played “Privilege walk”. I saw how in the game some of the characteristics were more powerful than others in determining whether we move a step forward or backward, such as wealth, social status and minority groups. 

One more thing that I learnt throughout the course so far was how AI can be biased and that is because of how it improves and builds up on the responses it receives from users regardless of the validity of these responses. An example of how we got to experiment with this was the game “quick draw”, where it was proven how AI depends on the previous inputs it received rather than the actual right answers. 

The interview I conducted with a professor from my major and my cousin who is also a graduate from a major very similar to mine was not only an interesting experience, but also very enlightening in terms of how much I learnt about the usages of AI in the field. The highlight of both meetings was how AI is a huge contributor in the differentiation between one engineer and another, the ability itself to use and experiment with AI can make an engineer more efficient and professional in their jobs. 

I personally learnt so much about how I could unintentionally have some biases even if I do not realize it. It made me rethink my behaviors towards others and what stereotypes could I possibly have towards people or minority groups. I also thought a lot about the class exercise that we did which was “which table would we bring a folding chair to”. It made me think of how I view myself and what factors matter to me personally when it comes to expressing myself to others.

Regarding Soliya, I honestly feel that after the first session it turned out to be even better than I expected. As a person that somehow struggles to participate in group discussions, I think I really did well in the first session especially because everyone was friendly and trying to get to know one another. I think a huge part that contributed to that too was having other Egyptians in my group even though they were from other universities, but it still made me feel a bit comfortable knowing that there is someone that shares a background close to mine even if we have our differences. I feel like this experience is kind of pushing me out of my comfort zone by making me interact with other people from all over the world and trying to find common interests, and that is definitely helping me become a good “global digital citizen”. I also want this experience to make me a better communicator and learn how to have a smooth discussion with people, allowing me to express my opinions and beliefs while also learning to be a good listener and thinker of what others have to say. 

In case the Palestinian topic was tackled by my group in Soliya, I honestly expect different opinions that are fueled by different backgrounds and societies, making it a very sensitive topic, especially given that one of my group members is a Palestinian named Muhammed. However, I am intending to have respectful discussions where I am going to try to express the cause from my own point of view in order to deliver the message to people of other cultures, and I will try my best to be a good listener in order to be able to consider what people of opinions opposing mine think of. I think discussing the amount of people and children that lose their lives everyday in the most traumatizing and inhumane ways possible would really be enough support to back up my argument. However, I will try my best to get as much proof and support to my arguments and educate myself as much as I can regarding this topic and still accept the opinions of others.