The UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, stressed that his country is not only looking for economic benefits in this field, but also seeks to become a leader in it.
The scientists, the world’s first minister of artificial intelligence, digital economy and remote work applications, stressed the importance of a “responsible” introduction of artificial intelligence systems.
“We are looking at artificial intelligence as a tool, this is a tool that we need to use to improve the quality of life,” he said in an interview with AFP in Dubai.
The UAE says in its guide to artificial intelligence or “machine intelligence” that it is “a set of technologies that help a machine or system to understand, learn, behave and feel like humans.”
According to the scientists, “Certainly, achieving economic returns is what every country desires and desires as well, but we also want to make sure that artificial intelligence is developed and disseminated responsibly.”
The scientist took over when he was 27 in 2017, and was tasked with leading the country’s AI strategy launched the same year.
His appointment came a year after his country created the position of “Minister of Happiness”, then the Ministry of Tolerance.
The UAE aspires to become one of the leading countries in the field of artificial intelligence by 2031, creating new economic and commercial opportunities and achieving additional growth of up to 335 billion dirhams ($ 91 billion).
PwC Middle East, a consultancy, says that nearly 14% ($96 billion) of the UAE’s gross domestic product will come from artificial intelligence by 2030.
The scholars point out that “the UAE is the only country that has appointed a person to seriously supervise this file.”
self-driving cars
The UAE has invested heavily in technology in the last decade as it seeks to diversify its economy and dependence on oil.
Among these investments is an experiment with self-driving cars in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
Dubai says it wants to make 25 percent of all transport without a driver by 2030, which, if it happens, would reduce costs, pollution and accidents.
And last year, the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence opened to students the first university of its kind for artificial intelligence in the world.
The UAE has also launched a number of trainings and startups in this field.
The UAE this month also announced a strategy for the digital economy that includes a council headed by scholars, with the hope that the sector will contribute 20% of GDP within ten years.
“I do not think that during the next quarter of a century, there will be an economy in the world that does not depend in most of its economic activities on the digital world, and artificial intelligence is a big component of that,” the Emirati minister says.
“I also think we haven’t yet seen the actual impact of AI on the economy,” he adds.