The world’s first minister for artificial intelligence (AI) said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not only looking for economic benefits as it seeks to become a leading nation in the sector.
UAE Minister of State for AI Omar bin Sultan al-Olama said that “quality of life” considerations were key, and also stressed the importance of a “responsible” rollout, with impacts potentially reverberating for decades.
“We are looking at AI as a tool,” he told reporters in an interview in Dubai. “It’s a tool that we need to use to unleash the quality of life aspect.”
Photo: AFP
The UAE also calls AI “machine intelligence,” defining it as a branch of technology enabling systems to “think, learn and make decisions like humans,” which can support everything from virology to transport.
“Yes, economic gain is something that every country wants, and we want it, too, but ... we want to ensure the development and deployment and the use of AI is responsible,” al-Olama said.
Al-Olama was just 27 when he was handed the Cabinet-level position in 2017, tasked with launching the oil-rich Arab nation’s strategy in a field that touches everything from speech and facial recognition to commerce and autonomous vehicles.
His appointment came a year after the UAE also named ministers for happiness, hoping to create a “happier society,” and tolerance, mainly aimed at promoting coexistence in the Gulf country where foreigners make up the majority of the population.
The UAE’s stated goal is to become one of the leading AI nations by 2031, creating new economic and business opportunities and generating up to 335 billion dirhams (US$91 billion) in extra growth.
Consultancy firm PwC Middle East said that nearly 14 percent, or US$96 billion, of the UAE’s GDP would come from AI by 2030.
“The UAE was the only country that appointed someone to actually oversee this mandate seriously,” al-Olama said.
The nation has invested heavily in technology over the past decade as it diversifies its economy and reduces its reliance on oil. Its bets include driverless vehicles, with autonomous taxis already tested on the streets of the capital, Abu Dhabi, while Dubai, another of the country’s seven emirates, aims to have one-quarter of its transport driverless by 2030.
Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, touted as the world’s first graduate-level AI university, opened to students last year, and the country has launched a number of start-up hubs and training schemes.
However, the UAE has also drawn concern over its high levels of surveillance. In 2019 it denied reports that a popular mobile app was being used for government spying.
Al-Olama said that a big part of his job was instilling public confidence and avoiding costly errors when AI systems are put in place.
The dangers of AI include inadvertently introducing bias against certain groups of people, which could prove damaging in areas such as public services.
“It entails that there’s no controversy around the deployment,” al-Olama said of his role. “It entails that we focus on deploying it today, but in a way that makes sure it does not impact future generations negatively.”
An important step in the project was to properly explain AI to senior officials, to “demystify” the technology and reduce the “element of fear,” he said.
“If you’re dealing with something you don’t understand, you will have an aspect or element of fear associated with it, it’s human nature,” he said.
“One program ... is focused on training senior government officials on understanding what AI is, understanding the ethical dilemma, understanding what good and bad deployments are, how do you remove bias,” he said. “Today, these people are our AI army. They are the people that are deploying AI across government, and really have a very strong foundation that they can build on.”
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