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2021-05-18

AI to Power UAE’s Industrial Leap

The UAE has always been pressing the right keys when it comes to introducing Smart initiatives. The country has been pursuing its stated goal of becoming a leading global hub and an open lab for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s applications. It was the UAE that established the very first Artificial Intelligence (AI) ministry in the world.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has declared that industries of the future are central to the UAE government’s efforts to secure sustainable long-term economic growth.

Anticipating the future and the inherent understanding of the transformations required in the global industrial landscape are fundamental to the philosophy of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology, known as Operation 300bn.

The 10-year comprehensive strategy aims to empower and expand the industrial sector to become the driving force of a sustainable national economy, increasing its contribution to the GDP from the current AED133 billion to AED300 billion by 2031.

Enhancing industries where the UAE already has a strong and established presence, and striving for strategic sectors to reduce dependencies on global supply chains, Operation 300bn pointedly zooms in on future industries.

Those driven by AI and advance technology adoption, where knowledge and innovation form the foundations of their economic growth, space technology, clean energy sources, medical technology, and renewable energy all fall under the microscope of this section of the strategy.

To achieve its primary goal of increasing the industrial sector’s GDP contribution to AED300 billion by 2031, these industries of the future will play a critical role while stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation and new avenues of economic productivity.

Smart Start

The UAE is already off to a good start in these sectors.

AI has become a characteristic of the UAE’s future-forward direction. The Strategy for AI announced in 2017 and the establishment of the UAE Space Agency in 2014 has done much to facilitate and accelerate the UAE’s status as a global leader of AI solutions.

The space sector has become integral to many aspects of life, from telecommunications to broadcasting and monitoring of weather and natural disasters.

Recognising this fact, the UAE has achieved some historic milestones in the space sector in recent years. Most recently, the arrival of the Hope Probe to the orbit of Mars, under the Emirates Mars Mission, on February 9, 2021, marked the first satellite from the Arab world to achieve this feat.

Notably, the team was led by a team of young Emirati scientists and engineers – a strong demonstration of the upward ascent of the nation’s ambitious young workforce and their advanced technology capabilities. Building on this historic success, it’s clear that the space sector will become a key contributor to GDP growth.

With unwavering support from the UAEs leadership, the national space sector has developed remarkably in the past seven years, after receiving AED22 billion investment.

Today, it boasts 13 orbiting satellites, five new satellites under development, more than 50 companies, institutions and space facilities operating within the country, including international companies and start-ups, and three satellite operating institutions - the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Establishment, and the Yahsat with Thuraya - five research centres for space sciences, and three university programmes in space science.

The space sector is currently employing more than 3,100 engineers, experts, technicians and other related skills.

It’s not just space that the space sector will prove impactful in the long term. The industrial applications of space science technologies are vital. Artificial limbs for people of determination, scratch-resistant lenses, solar cells, telephone cameras, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices, insulating building materials, laptops and dozens of other products would not have been possible without space programmes. Most high-tech advances were originally invented by scientists working on space missions, before they became commercially available to citizens.

AI applications are used in a wide array of fields, including medical diagnostics, stock trading, machine control, video game industries, Internet search engine software, agriculture, transport and logistics, in addition to IoT (Internet of Things).

Moreover, AI and 4IR technology solutions are vital to anticipating manufacturing faults and avoiding disruptions to global supply chains. It is by accelerating advanced technology adoption that Operation 300bn can enhance the UAE’s infrastructure to reinforce the nation’s resilience in vital sectors.

National Programme for AI

It is a fact that the UAE Government takes tireless efforts to benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution and utilise AI in finding innovative solutions to all new challenges.

The UAE National Programme for Artificial Intelligence – BRAIN – is one solid example of such an effort. It is a comprehensive and consolidated compilation of resources that highlight the advances in AI and Robotics, with special emphasis on the UAE’s policy objective to become a leading participant in the responsible use of AI and its tools globally.

This programme will define and underline the various initiatives, collaborations, partnerships and breakthroughs in the field of AI and the impact of all these on entire humankind.

What has helped greatly is that the UAE is an early and leading player in the responsible use of AI technology and its balanced implementation to preserve an open global digital commons for its populations.

National AI Strategy 2031

Long-term planning is what has helped the UAE stay ahead of others in the region. The UAE has a vision to become a world leader in AI by 2031, creating new economic and social opportunities for citizens, governments and businesses and generating up to AED 335 billion in extra growth.

The country aims at becoming a fast adopter of emerging AI technologies across Government as well as attract top AI talent to experiment with new technologies and work in a sophisticated, secure ecosystem to solve complex problems.

With this foundation of talent, as well as better governance of AI, the UAE will have the right conditions to develop new AI solutions in the coming decade and beyond.

What is noteworthy is that these novel technologies have huge economic potential, including from licensing and export overseas.

Other Initiatives

There has been stupendous action on the ground. Various activities have been initiated with the unambiguous goal of promoting AI: These include:

CODE HUB

A platform that highlights the top open-source AI systems being developed in the UAE. CODE HUB aims to help speed up the UAE’s AI development efforts. By providing a central resource, the government hopes to help public and private organisations to both fast-track AI development and reduce costs.

AI EVERYTHING SUMMIT

The Most Anticipated & Empowering AI Summit for Governments, Businesses, Social Enterprises & the Creative Economy. The 2021 edition will take place from October 17-21, 2021.

THINK AI INITIATIVE

A series of strategic roundtables to accelerate the adoption of AI.

AI INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Under the programme, 500 Emirati students are to be trained in artificial intelligence via an internship programme in partnership with Dell EMC – Website: www.aiinternship.ae

UAE-INDIA AI BRIDGE

The partnership involves the creation of a committee that will meet annually with the aim of increasing investment in AI start-ups.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMME

A one-year AI training programme designed for government employees.

UAE AI CAMP

Region’s First Artificial Intelligence Camp – Website: www.aicamp.ae

BLOCKCHAIN STRATEGY 2021

As per the plan, 50 per cent of government transactions on the federal level will be conducted using blockchain technology by 2021.

UAE AI COUNCIL

A specialised council focusing on AI to accelerate the roll out of the UAE AI Strategy 2031.

FIRST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIVERSITY

The first Artificial Intelligence (AI) focused university has been established in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a graduate-level university with a heavy focus on research.

In the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces: “Launching the world’s first graduate-level AI university in Abu Dhabi echoes the UAE’s pioneering spirit, and paves the way for a new era of innovation and technological advancement that benefits the UAE and the world.”

The university has some of the best facilities and equipment related to AI. There are both masters programmes lasting two years as well as PhD lasting four years. The university accepts both local and international graduate students, on three main specialty fields including machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing.

When it comes to delivering on a future vision, the UAE has clearly set the standard in the Middle East and beyond.

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