How the UAE is finding an ally in AI

It’s an imperative today for both public and private sector organisations to invest in, implement and revolve company culture around technologies of the future. And Industry 4.0, otherwise known as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), is at the core of this effort, which involves a synergised approach to production based on a groundswell of cutting-edge IT, large-scale automation of business processes, and a massive spread of AI.

While 4IR was always an inevitability, the pandemic accelerated its necessity in terms of infrastructure and knowledge to cope with huge amounts of data supplied by thousands of sensors and smart devices. That, and the need to regulate the use of AI and its inherent ethical concerns, were recurring themes of the recent World AI Show in Dubai last month.

Laying the groundwork

In 2017, the UAE announced 4IR strategies based on three pillars: making the UAE a technology hub for Industry 4.0, digital transformation of the economy, and increasing the efficiency of government services, said Saeed Alhebsi, advisor in AI ministry of human resource and Emiratisation, who spoke on the first day of the event.

4IR also focuses on a number of specific fields including remote and in-person education, intelligent genomic medicine, and robotic healthcare, which encourage ministries to adopt emerging technologies and implement them to provide intelligent and interactive services, he explained.

Alhebsi said his ministry has already finished the education process for all its 1,000 employees who are now up to speed.

“Now, we’ll look at what kind of advanced technologies we can use and where to implement them,” he said. “As a labour ministry, we’re looking into using a smart contract [programme].”

Fighting bias in AI

AI is becoming an increasingly integral part of face and voice recognition systems, which have substantial business implications that directly affect people. According to some estimates, the use of AI in recruitment will replace about 16% of recruitment sector jobs by 2029.

Artificial Intelligence, Regulation