Page 8 - U4SSC Case study Dubai, United Arab Emirates

1 Introduction

Dubai has emerged as a global hub for innovation and technology due to its extensive digital
transformation efforts in the last two decades. Public and private sectors, as well as inhabitants
and residents, have adopted digital services and solutions so propelling Dubai into becoming one
of the most advanced digital economies and digital societies in the world. The city has recently
entered its fourth generation of digital transformation through the efforts of Digital Dubai, formerly
known as Smart Dubai, and has become a magnet for attracting international and local talent. In
this context, AI has become a strategic emerging/frontier technology in various sectors such as
health care, mobility and logistics, energy, education, financial services, retail, tourism, and public
services, among others. Recognizing early on the potential adverse effects and ethical challenges
associated with AI, Dubai has adopted a proactive and adaptive approach to addressing these
concerns through the development and implementation of AI principles and ethics guidelines. It
has also established a prudential governance approach for AI ethics at the city level.

2 Background & Context

Dubai has actively pursued digital transformation as a strategic enabler, including e-government,
smart government, smart city and, more recently, the digital city strategies. The city's efforts to
evolve as a hub for emerging/frontier technologies are evident in its various initiatives such as the
Dubai Future Accelerators programme, the Dubai Data Initiative, Dubai Blockchain Strategy, Dubai
Metaverse Strategy, and the establishment of the Dubai Digital Authority (commonly known as
Digital Dubai). These initiatives have, directly and indirectly, played a significant role in fostering
AI adoption across various strategic sectors in Dubai.

AI was carefully selected as a major technology contributing to the city’s success, and numerous
AI use cases were piloted and implemented as part of Dubai’s pioneering approach to technology
innovation starting from 2015 onwards. As part of the effort to shape the global conversation
around AI ethics, and to establish Dubai as a thought leader in AI adoption across the public and
private sectors, Digital Dubai collaborated with IBM to launch its AI Lab to develop potential AI
use cases in 2017.
1
The UAE provides a strong foundation for Dubai to thrive as an AI innovation hub, consisting of a
cohesive and diversified multinational community capable of quickly adapting to emerging and
frontier technologies. In 2018, the UAE AI Strategy was launched; this sets a clear vision for UAE
to become the world leader in AI by 2031. As shown in Figure 1, eight strategic objectives are
outlined in the AI Strategy:

1 Dubai Digital Authority, 2021, An Update on Our Next Steps Towards Safe and Fair AI For Dubai

6 U4SSC - Case study - Dubai, United Arab Emirates