With this work, AnNahar, Lebanon’s largest newspaper, leveraged its 90 years of impartial journalism to demonstrate to Lebanon and the world that objective and rational leadership in Lebanon is possible. We did this through the innovative use of print and media; creating the world’s first AI President that is accessible to all on an open website, and turning it’s own pages into a political platform authored entirely by the AI President.

In Lebanon, the President is the official representative of the country in both domestic and international affairs. While the Lebanese Parliament primarily handles legislative functions, it is the President that promulgates laws passed by Parliament, and can also return laws to Parliament with objections.

It is also the President who appoints the Prime Minister and then the Cabinet, and chairs Cabinet meetings in specific circumstances. The President additionally appoints members to the Constitutional Council, which has the authority to rule on constitutional matters.

As such, the Lebanese President plays a key role in any domestic legislation, governmental reform or international agreements.

Today, Lebanon is in freefall. The economy has collapsed, and with it public services and national security. The Guardian called this "one of the most severe economic collapses seen internationally since the 1850s, and it is taking place in a highly volatile environment."

It is a country on the brink of total collapse.

Lebanon had not had a president since 2022. No fewer than 13 parliamentary sessions to elect a leader have failed, paralyzing the country, as it continues to free fall towards a failed state.

The country desperately needed informed and objective leadership – which it has never had, as each successive President and government has acted in their own personal and political interests.

The country needed a rational figure-head that learned from the past, and did not repeat the same mistakes over and over.

For nearly a century, AnNahar Newspaper has consistently pressured politicians and governments for change and reform, in an unwavering commitment to journalism's role in fostering a fair and democratic society.

Our objective was to leverage 90 years of impartial reporting to demonstrate objective and rational leadership is possible, with an initiative the local political elite and the world could not ignore – and instead, must learn from.

The daily AnNahar edition was transformed into a full-fledged political platform, authored by the AI President, containing informed solutions and policies to reform Lebanon and urging citizens to engage with it on a website accessible to all; ourpresident.ai. More than 100,000+ responses have been generated to date.

The physical edition sold-out in just a few hours, while AnNahar registered its highest readership to date, and subscriptions increasing by 28%.

Covered by several global media publications, the campaign garnered $25 million+ in earned media and became the most trending topic on X and other social platforms, boosting AnNahar website visits by 31%.

The AI president has been able to catalyze tangible change on-ground - it has begun attending ministerial council meetings, providing un-biased data-driven insights and solutions to the challenges being debated, shaping the course of the meeting’s discussions.

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Article 50 of the constitution of Lebanon requires the president to take an oath upon assuming office, We visually rendered this oath in Arabic calligraphy, encased within a circular motif mimicking the AI president interface. This fusion seamlessly merges tradition with innovation, dominating the newspaper's front page. Within, the daily edition transforms into a robust political platform authored by the AI president, offering citizens unfettered access to its vast online knowledge repository. The AI President was meticulously crafted through the utilization of Large Language Models, trained on 90 years of AnNahar's unbiased journalism. It harnesses the wealth of historical data provided by AnNahar's archives, alongside real-time analysis of current events, to generate informed responses to a wide array of inquiries. By immersing itself in this vast knowledge repository, the AI President possesses a comprehensive understanding of Lebanon's past and presents an impartial viewpoint on the contemporary challenges confronting the nation.