On why the UAE will be a leading AI champion

We are living in times when AI is disrupting every aspect of our lives and businesses at an exceptional pace. Industries such as healthcare, education, financial services, energy, retail among others are realizing opportunities that were not imaginable just few years back. AI companions are being created, every day, amplifying productivity and human ingenuity ?to levels unseen before. AI is supporting us in being more creative (creating arts and music), conversational (supporting natural language conversations in many languages) and better informed (reasoning over limitless amount of data, in real time). And all of this is creating unique economic opportunities.

The UAE made its AI ambitions very clear: it appointed the first AI Minister, created G42 as a first among national AI champion, founded MBZUAI as the first AI university and research centre in the region, and made a very clear leadership commitment to leverage AI towards a national competitive advantage: the president of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan led an AI discussion at G7 back in June, and the Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum was one of the first global leaders requesting the government to leverage AI back in 2023.

Consequently, organizations in the UAE have been leading on the use of AI. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC Group continues to be one of the world largest organizations leveraging AI to improve productivity with the use Microsoft 365 Copilot. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Dubai Electricity & Water Authority - DEWA was one of the first utility companies to leverage AI to improve its customers services and telecommunications group e& have invested in AI as part of its core engineering capabilities- and those are only few examples among hundreds of similar examples across UAE organizations.

We are also seeing UAE organizations creating AI technologies that the world can benefit from. The AI Tutor Program led by the Ministry of Education – UAE and the AI Genomics Program led by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and M42 Health are examples of AI innovation created in the UAE that will impact the country, the region and the world. And with announcements such as the AI infrastructure for Kenya, led by G42 and Microsoft, the UAE is leveraging the power of technology to allow access to advanced AI tech to potentially more than 2B people.

In addition, the UAE has been driving its AI ambition with a clear strategy: the power of partnerships. It is a strategy that the UAE has been known for ?that dates back to its late founder His Highness Sheikh Zayed. The partnership between G42 and Microsoft is a blue print that can support the country deliver on its AI ambition and be potentially replicated beyond its borders .

Lastly, we are seeing clear intentional plans for the UAE to be an AI talent magnet. As the world competes for AI talent, the UAE value proposition in terms of quality of life, solid tech infrastructure, focus on innovation and inclusive culture is showing great signs of attracting AI talent and companies that call the UAE a home. The continuous success of this strategy can be the country’s largest competitive advantage.

For all the above reason, I clearly see the UAE on the right path to be an AI champion. The success of this strategy will drive an improved quality of life in the country and solid economic growth while exporting best practices, AI knowledge and technology to impact the region and beyond.

The whole local private and public sector ecosystem, including tech companies as well as industry champions across all industries are encouraged to contribute to those ambitions - whether through innovative use of AI, through creating new AI based tech that can be leveraged locally and internationally, or by investing in AI skilling their workforces - organizations in the UAE have a key role to play, by role modelling leadership in the era of AI.

It is a generational opportunity that everyone should contribute to. And in what I think of as year two of the AI era, I see the UAE and the wider region emerging as a clear winner, based on a strategy that is anchored in role modelling and clear leadership from the top, the formation of the right partnerships and strategic investments beyond its borders and focus on attracting the right talent.