How viral science filmmaking made KT+150 judge Hashem Al-Ghaili a global influencer
Nominate a UAE resident aged 35 or younger: KT+150’s AI category judge is excited to see what young innovators have created
- PUBLISHED:Wed 5 Aug 2026, 7:25 AM
- By:
- Sahim Salim
For years, Hashem Al-Ghaili had ideas for films he could not make. Bringing them to life would have required Hollywood-level budgets, major studios, large production teams and people willing to invest in his ideas.
Artificial intelligence has changed that equation. The science communicator and filmmaker now believes individual creators are no longer held back by a lack of access to expensive equipment or large production teams. “Instead, you’re largely limited by your imagination.”
AI has also made production faster and more affordable, allowing independent creators to attempt work that would once have required far greater reuality production accessible to individual creators,” Al-Ghaili said
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Al-Ghaili said his work reaches more than 45 million followers across platforms and has generated over 100 billion views, including more than 30 billion video views.
The creative force behind some of the world’s most viral science and technology stories is bringing his experience to the second edition of KT+150 as the judge for the AI category. He is among 15 judges who will help identify the UAE’s next generation of creators, innovators and changemakers.
The KT+150 List will recognise 150 of the UAE’s most dynamic residents aged 35 or younger, with 10 honourees selected across each of its 15 categories. Members of the public can nominate themselves or others here: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-150. Candidates will be assessed by the KT Editorial Advisory Panel and a professional judge from each field.
What will make a KT+150 nominee stand out?
As he assesses nominees in the KT+150 AI category, Al-Ghaili will look beyond technical proficiency alone.
Originality, execution, impact and the thinking behind each project will all play a role, but the strongest ideas, he said, should retain a distinctly human quality. “It should be something people can emotionally connect with rather than something that feels robotic or purely generated.”
Technical ability will matter, but it will not be the only deciding factor.
“Skills improve over time,” he said. “What matters more is whether someone has a compelling idea and the vision to bring it to life.”
He will also consider whether a project makes a meaningful difference, inspires people, solves a problem, educates or creates genuine emotional engagement. Where the work has already been published, audience response may offer further insight into how deeply people connected with it.
“The thinking behind the idea is just as important as the final result,” he said.
Al-Ghaili said he was excited to see what the KT+150 nominees had created and how they were using AI for innovation and storytelling.
A childhood fascination with science
Al-Ghaili’s journey began long before social media and artificial intelligence became central to his work.
His fascination with science started during childhood, when he shared interesting science facts in children’s magazines and spent hours reading about the questions that intrigued him most.
“Science was always one of my favourite subjects in school because I was fascinated by the big questions: how things work, where we came from and what the universe is made of,” he said.
“I spent countless hours reading about these topics simply because they genuinely excited me.”
In 2008, while studying for a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at the University of Peshawar in Pakistan, he discovered the potential of Facebook as a platform for sharing science with a wider audience.
He began posting educational science content on his personal profile, driven by the same curiosity that had led him to share facts in magazines as a child.
Over time, however, his ambitions evolved. He wanted to do more than simply explain complex concepts. He wanted audiences to feel connected to them.
“I’ve always loved stories, films, and cinema, so combining storytelling with science felt like a natural progression,” he said.
“Storytelling has an incredible ability to make complex ideas relatable, emotional, and memorable.”
That approach would eventually become central to his work, allowing him to translate scientific concepts and ideas into visual stories for audiences around the world.
Move to video that changed everything
For several years, Al-Ghaili continued to post educational science content. In 2015, he converted his Facebook profile into a public page, which gave him better insights into audience engagement and helped him understand what people enjoyed most.
Around the same time, he made the decision to pivot to video content.
“That completely changed everything,” he said.
He subsequently expanded his work to YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat and other social media platforms.
“Looking back, it all started with a simple passion for sharing science with others,” he said.
His ideas can now emerge from almost anywhere. A newly published scientific study may provide the starting point, but so might a conversation, an interesting story someone has told him or an old film that inspires an entirely new direction.
“Often, it’s a combination of all these different influences coming together,” he said.
Once he identifies an idea, Al-Ghaili spends considerable time refining it. He creates an outline, researches the subject thoroughly and revisits it repeatedly until he is satisfied with the structure and message.
“That process of iteration is incredibly important,” he said.
‘Ideas are always human’
AI has become an integral part of that workflow, but Al-Ghaili is clear that the ideas originate with the creator.
“The ideas themselves are always human,” he said. “AI doesn’t replace creativity.”
Instead, he sees it as a creative partner that can help him brainstorm, refine and critique concepts, generate visuals and video sequences, and bring ambitious stories to life in ways that were not previously possible.
For Al-Ghaili, the distinction between using AI as a tool and treating it as the creative force is important.
“At the end of the day, AI is still just a tool. The human remains the creative force behind it,” he said.
“You’re the one steering the direction, writing the prompts, shaping the narrative, and making the creative decisions.”
