Xanana Gusmão warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could increase the credibility of fraud, scams, and political disinformation campaigns, enabling the creation of realistic videos, images, and voices of non-existent events.
During the opening speech of the Science for Development Summit, which takes place until Tuesday at the Dili Convention Center, the Prime Minister emphasized that the danger transcends mere belief in falsehoods; if everything can be fabricated, people may begin to doubt the veracity of what is real.
For the Timorese leader, AI also constitutes a threat to sovereignty. He questioned the scenario where corporations acquire greater economic power than the countries themselves and come to control essential technologies for governments, communities, and businesses.
Xanana Gusmão observed that AI companies are already concentrating vast human knowledge and monetizing it through monthly subscriptions, a process of appropriation and commercialization of knowledge accumulated over centuries.
Although he predicts that AI will integrate into daily life, he stressed that it is only one component of a much broader scientific and technological transformation. The main challenge, according to him, is determining whether Timor-Leste possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to assimilate and leverage these changes for its own development, which requires strengthening technical and scientific education.
The Prime Minister also added that scientific advancement must serve to improve human life, but urged people to maintain space for the 'poetry of life.'
The Science for Development Summit, promoted by the Timorese Presidency and Government, gathered various Nobel laureates, Turing award winners, and scientists. The Turing Award, recognized as the 'Nobel Prize of Computing,' is awarded annually by the Association for Computing Machinery of the United States for significant and lasting technical contributions to the field, honoring Alan Turing (1912-1954), a British mathematician considered the father of computer science.
The Timorese Presidency classified the event as the largest ever held in Southeast Asia. The central purpose of the summit is to raise Timor-Leste's international profile and foster development through international cooperation, diplomacy, and education.
In his opening address, the Timorese President declared that the meeting symbolizes Timor-Leste's readiness to transition from a mere consumer to a producer of knowledge, aiming to transform natural and human diversity into solutions for agriculture, health, education, and sustainable prosperity.
This event takes place in parallel with the Sci-Tech Expo 2026, where young university students and other participants present practical technological solutions adapted to the local context.