The UAE emerges as a global leader in AI, driving innovation and future technology

The UAE’s vision for AI is encapsulated in its National AI Strategy 2031, which aims to position the country as a global leader in AI by integrating it across various sectors. This strategy is not just a roadmap but a testament to the UAE’s forward-thinking approach to harnessing the power of AI for socio-economic growth.

The UAE made headlines by becoming the first nation to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in 2017. This move underscores the country’s commitment to embedding AI at the highest levels of government, ensuring that AI policies and initiatives receive focused attention and resources. The country also launched Smart Dubai, an initiative under the Dubai Future Foundation, Smart Dubai aims to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest and happiest city. AI is at the core of this vision, driving smart governance, efficient resource management, and enhanced quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

According to Boston Consulting Group (BGC) survey, artificial intelligence isn’t new, but broad public interest in it is. The survey found that people are surprisingly knowledgeable and excited about AI and business leaders should understand and not underestimate consumers when developing and deploying AI-enabled solutions. Overall, 75% of survey respondents have used ChatGPT or another AI-driven tool. In markets such as India, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates, AI usage exceeds the levels in so-called mature markets. In the UAE, 91% of consumers know GenAI and 34% use these technologies.

Governments like the UAE showcase robust AI engagement, with initiatives like the Falcon 2 AI model, designed to compete with Meta and Open AI. Positioning the country at the forefront of AI development. This highlights the region’s commitment to integrating AI across industries.

“GenAI created tremendous interest, and is giving a boost to enterprise AI strategies, and promises to enable many business outcomes. A lot of organizations started exploring a variety of GenAI-enabled business use cases and especially large organizations (with more than 500+ employees) have been more enthusiastic about adopting this new technology, mainly due to the competitive pressure, availability of financial resources, and skills to support,” explained Jyoti Lalchandani, Group Vice President & Regional MD, Middle East, Turkey & Africa to CIO Middle East.

“With Gen AI interest growing, organizations are forced to examine their data architecture and maturity. This also led to many data modernization projects where specialized business and IT services players with data life-cycle services capabilities have started engaging with clients across different vertical markets.” added.