Dubai has introduced a global classification system aimed at distinguishing human and machine contributions in the creation of creative, scientific, academic, and intellectual content.
The initiative, developed by the Dubai Future Foundation, was approved by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
“Distinguishing between human creativity and artificial intelligence has become a real challenge in light of today’s rapid technological advances,” said Sheikh Hamdan. “This calls for a new approach to recognise the growing role of intelligent machines. That’s why we launched the world’s first Human–Machine Collaboration Icons: a classification system that brings transparency to how research, publications, and content are created.”
He also called on global stakeholders to integrate the framework into their work: “We invite researchers, writers, publishers, designers, and content creators around the world to adopt this new global classification system and use it responsibly and in ways that benefit people.”
Sheikh Hamdan directed all Dubai Government entities to begin implementing the system in their research and knowledge efforts.
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The Human–Machine Collaboration (HMC) classification system is designed to bring clarity to content production by indicating the level of involvement by intelligent machines. It applies across sectors, including research, design, publishing, and visual content creation, fields that are increasingly integrating automation and AI tools.
The system defines “intelligent machines” as a wide range of digital tools, including algorithms, generative AI models, robotics, and automation systems that contribute to the content development process.
Five Main Classifications
At the core of the system are five primary icons that categorise the nature of human–machine interaction in content creation:
- All Human: Content fully produced by humans with no machine involvement.
- Human Led: Human-created content reviewed or refined by a machine.
- Machine Assisted: Human and machine collaborated iteratively to create the content.
- Machine Led: Machine was the primary creator, with humans involved in final validation.
- All Machine: Entirely machine-generated content without human input.
Additional Functional Indicators
To provide further context, the system introduces nine sub-classification icons that identify specific stages where human–machine collaboration occurred. These cover key phases of content development: ideation, literature review, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing, translation, visuals, and design.
While the HMC system does not quantify the percentage of machine involvement, it allows creators to signal transparency in their processes. Its adaptable design makes it suitable for use across different sectors, content types, and media formats, including image and video outputs.
