Artificial intelligence and advanced technology received special attention during the meeting between His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and US President Joe Biden in September 2024. This focus stemmed from both countries recognizing the immense potential of AI technologies across various sectors that could benefit humanity. These sectors include boosting economic growth, supporting health and education, creating more job opportunities, and advancing environmental sustainability efforts.
This meeting took place in the context of a rapidly intensifying global race in artificial intelligence. Competition between nations and tech companies has grown significantly, with many allocating substantial resources and budgets to secure a prominent place in the future. This rivalry has revealed several nations that can be considered “digital hawks” in the AI field, much like the rise of the Asian Tigers who benefited from the telecommunications and information technology revolution in the 1980s. These countries may not have traditionally been at the forefront of technological competition, but they have made significant strides in AI applications in recent years. Among these countries are the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil.
These nations have achieved advanced rankings in the 2024 Tortoise Media AI Index. The UAE rose from 28th to 20th globally, India moved from 14th to 10th, Saudi Arabia jumped from 31st to 14th, and Brazil climbed from 35th to 30th. The top-ranking countries remain the technologically advanced ones, such as the Western nations, led by the United States, along with China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Israel.
The UAE has emerged as a rising global player in AI, driven by several motivating factors such as international partnerships with leading companies in the field like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, as well as national companies working on advanced AI technologies like G42. This progress is supported by the country’s comprehensive National AI Strategy 2031, aimed at positioning the UAE as a global leader in AI applications.
Strategic Excellence:
In its vision to ascend to a global leadership position in AI, the UAE’s National AI Strategy focuses on excelling in specific sectors where the country possesses strong assets and promising opportunities for creating real added value. This is referred to as a “niche strategy.” These sectors include energy, tourism, logistics and transportation, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
These sectors were chosen for purely economic reasons, as AI offers significant potential for generating large economic gains and cost savings when applied to them. Estimates suggest that AI could generate up to AED 335 billion in the UAE economy by stimulating and supporting innovative and startup projects in these areas.
The National AI Strategy 2031 outlines eight goals related to the role and development of AI in the UAE:
- Establishing the UAE as a hub for AI by supporting innovative and research-driven projects and adopting emerging technologies in the field.
- Enhancing the UAE’s competitiveness in priority areas such as those previously mentioned, which will boost its regional and global standing.
- Developing a fertile ecosystem for AI by creating a conducive environment for adopting AI technologies, providing funding, knowledge, and strategic support, thereby fostering the establishment of new companies capable of developing globally leading products and services.
- Adopting AI in customer service areas, particularly in education, healthcare, transportation, and customer support. AI’s use in these services can improve living standards and enhance government performance.
- Attracting and training talent for future jobs that require AI skills by preparing a specialized and well-trained workforce proficient in the latest technologies to ensure continuous development and meet future market demands.
- Bringing world-leading research capabilities to work in target sectors. Investment in research and development in AI is a crucial first step to leadership, achieved by providing a research environment that can attract global talent, investments, and advanced scientific research to contribute to AI development.
- Providing data and essential AI infrastructure. The UAE enjoys a competitive advantage in collecting and sharing data. It serves as a global laboratory with over 200 nationalities residing in the country, and this unique cultural mix provides ideal datasets for developing AI systems that can be used globally. Recognizing that data is the future’s oil, the UAE is investing in creating infrastructures that act as a testing platform for AI.
- Ensuring strong governance and effective regulation. Globally, AI governance faces significant challenges due to the rapid developments in this field. However, the growing global interest in AI governance presents an opportunity for governments to collaborate and ensure effective AI regulation at both local and international levels.
To ensure the realization of these goals, the UAE appointed the world’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence in 2017, tasked with overseeing the plan, establishing a comprehensive roadmap for AI excellence, and solidifying the UAE’s position as a global center for advanced technology and innovation. Several government institutions contribute to this effort alongside the Ministry of State for Artificial Intelligence. These include the Government Empowerment Department, which brings together over 30 government entities within a digital framework that includes the AI Office, Dubai Digital Authority, a government body responsible for implementing digital transformation and cybersecurity strategies in Dubai, and initiatives like ethical AI tools and the AI lab, in addition to other research institutions and centers.
The United Arab Emirates has formed multiple international partnerships to strengthen its position as an emerging power in artificial intelligence (AI). These partnerships have been established with several countries, particularly the United States, China, and France. The UAE has also launched initiatives in collaboration with major global technology companies. In September 2024, the UAE and the United States announced shared principles for AI cooperation. These principles were endorsed by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and His Highness Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Advisor of the UAE. The goal of these shared principles is to enhance cooperation between the two nations, develop regulatory frameworks, ensure the safe and reliable deployment of sensitive and emerging technologies, and increase support for joint research between the public and private sectors, as well as academic exchanges between institutions in both countries.
The UAE’s efforts go beyond forming international partnerships. They also include establishing research and development centers, fostering startups, and creating business incubators, in addition to investing in major technology companies to serve the nation’s interests in this sector.
International partnerships in AI encompass various applications in fields such as defense, healthcare, and energy. For instance, a Center of Excellence for Joint AI Research has been established between IBM and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). Initiatives such as the AI Task Force, a part of the U.S.-UAE Business Council, have been launched, along with collaborations with companies like Honeywell to provide AI-powered asset monitoring solutions, enhancing the energy management efficiency of ADNOC. Besides its partnership with the U.S., the UAE has forged collaborations with other nations, particularly China and France. Chinese tech giants such as Huawei and Alibaba are actively involved in AI projects in the UAE, while French companies like Thales contribute to AI-based defense and space sectors.
The UAE has also established research and development centers in AI, including the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, which focuses on AI education and research, making it a hub for international cooperation and innovation. The Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a global center for applied AI research, serves as the applied research arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). Additionally, the Dubai Academy for Artificial Intelligence and Web 3, as well as the Dubai Center for AI Applications, play significant roles in the country’s AI landscape.
To support AI startups, the UAE has developed an ecosystem through government-backed programs like Dubai Future Accelerators and Hub71. These platforms aim to foster local AI innovation and attract global startups to develop solutions within the UAE.
In terms of investments, the UAE has also allocated significant resources to AI companies worldwide. One of the most prominent examples is the Mubadala Investment Company, which has made substantial investments in global AI projects, including partnerships with international companies in Silicon Valley.
The UAE has demonstrated significant national capabilities in artificial intelligence, acknowledging the importance of building and developing local and national capacities in this field. The government has invested in large national companies capable of becoming an advanced industrial base, capable of carrying the burden of advancing this nascent industry. Furthermore, it has invested in the infrastructure for artificial intelligence. Predictions suggest that the UAE’s investments in AI will reach 33 billion dirhams (about 9 billion dollars) by the end of 2024. Additionally, the UAE aims to increase its AI investments to 50 billion dollars by 2025. According to estimates by PwC, AI is expected to contribute approximately 96 billion dollars to the UAE economy by 2030, which equates to about 14% of its GDP.
In recent years, the UAE has worked to establish several companies capable of developing AI-based products locally. Among these companies are:
42G: A holding company consisting of seven companies working in AI, data centers, energy, healthcare, surveillance, and biotechnology. In April 2023, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in 42G in the field of AI.
AAICO (The Applied AI Company): A national company that provides supervised AI systems to improve productivity and can be safely applied in critical industries such as healthcare, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and banking. It exports AI products to the U.S., UK, and Europe.
Core42: This company offers integrated solutions to enable AI, including cloud computing and high-performance computing. One of its projects, “Condor Galaxy,” uses a network of nine interconnected supercomputers to provide significant computing power.
M42: Combines technologies from G42 Healthcare and Mubadala Health’s facilities and services to offer personalized, precision healthcare using AI, genomics, and digital services.
Bayanat: Specializes in geospatial intelligence solutions and recently announced its intention to merge with Yahsat into a company called Space42, which will offer an integrated system providing remote geospatial analysis using satellites.
AIQ: Develops advanced AI-based tools to support digital transformation in the oil and gas sector and promote sustainability.
Khazna: A joint venture with e& (formerly Etisalat), it is the largest data center provider in the region and is working to expand globally to meet the advanced AI infrastructure needs.
Presight: Specializes in AI and predictive analytics, combining big data and machine learning to improve decision-making and efficiency in cities and companies.
AI71: A new AI company focusing on multiple disciplines using generative AI models.
The UAE government has already begun deploying AI across several sectors, including healthcare, smart cities, and transportation, with AI-based traffic management systems, medical diagnostics, and public services. AI technologies have also been integrated into daily government operations to improve efficiency and service delivery. Moreover, these developments contribute to the UAE’s national security by producing reliable and highly secure local technologies.
Gradually, the UAE’s vision of becoming a global hub for artificial intelligence is being realized. The country is transforming from an importer of these technologies into a credible and internationally recognized producer and exporter of reliable, effective AI technologies.
Opportunities and Potential Challenges:
In the midst of this international race in the field of artificial intelligence, a range of opportunities and challenges are emerging that countries may face. Among these are:
One significant opportunity is attracting talent and expertise. There remains a pressing need to draw in international talent, as well as to develop local capacities. The labor market demands the training of local human resources equipped with the necessary technical and knowledge-based skills to work in this field. This is crucial for ensuring sustainable growth and reducing reliance on external expertise.
Another important aspect is data infrastructure. Data serves as the foundation for developing any effective AI system. Although the UAE enjoys a comparative advantage in data acquisition and sharing, challenges remain related to the effective management and analysis of large datasets. The importance of this challenge lies in the necessity of providing a comprehensive and reliable data environment that supports the development of AI systems and applications.
On the global stage, competition is becoming fiercer. Countries such as the United States, China, and Russia are all striving for dominance in artificial intelligence. To maintain its competitiveness, the UAE must focus on continuous innovation and foster international partnerships, ensuring its position as a rising power in the AI domain.
Additionally, there is the opportunity for domestic production of smart chips. Currently, very few companies possess the capabilities and resources to manufacture the advanced chips needed to run large AI systems. It would be advantageous to attract these companies to establish factories within the UAE, achieving self-sufficiency and enabling the export of these chips to the international markets, where demand remains high.
Environmental sustainability is also a challenge, as operating AI systems requires significant amounts of energy, potentially posing difficulties in terms of environmental sustainability. In line with the country’s aim to reduce carbon emissions, the development of electricity generation through the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant represents a promising opportunity to expand AI usage while adhering to environmental goals.
Moreover, the ethics of artificial intelligence is an emerging concern. As the reliance on AI technologies increases across various sectors, ethical issues come to the forefront. These include the impact of AI on the labor market and potential biases that might arise from algorithm-based systems. There is a growing need to develop clear policies related to AI ethics, ensuring that these technologies do not have negative effects on vulnerable groups or society at large.
Finally, legislation and governance represent a global challenge in AI. The rapid pace at which this field is evolving makes it difficult for countries to keep up. This underscores the need to establish clear laws and regulations to ensure the safe and ethical use of these technologies.
In conclusion, the race among nations to develop artificial intelligence technologies has already begun. The United Arab Emirates has a significant opportunity to present itself as a new rising force in the field of AI, leveraging its advanced infrastructure, research centers, companies, incubators, legislation, and government institutions. These resources position the UAE to move confidently towards a more secure and prosperous future.
