A rapidly developing sector of Artificial Intelligence lies at the heart of a sea change that has been sweeping the global economy. The widespread impact of AI has begun to penetrate nearly all aspects of the economy. In the coming few years, apart from giving rise to new productivity, AI development will result in significant increases in social welfare systems and global competitiveness. By 2030, the estimated positive impact of AI worldwide will exceed $15.7 trillion. The World Economic Forum, recognizing the changes that are underway, considers the formation of AI strategies to be an essential part of achieving economic dominance in the 21st century; as a result, many countries today strategically invest in the creation of national frameworks that define the future position of the AI ecosystem that is growing globally.
Such heightened interest has led to the evolution of many national AI strategies, in both developing and developed nations. National strategies on the execution of AI technology and how the risks associated with AI can be managed have been developed by governments from the Western world, Asia, and the Middle East. While all this has wide coverage, the AI strategy, as well as the execution mechanism, continues to vary from nation to nation. For policymakers, analysts, and global institutions that wish to oversee the evolution of AI technology, understanding these variations has become vital.
Among the countries in this area, the UAE is notable on account of its governance and strategy. In 2017, it was the first country to appoint a dedicated AI minister. This demonstrated a high level of national interest in the position and the value of AI. This was succeeded by the unveiling of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, an ambitious blueprint in line with the UAE Centennial Vision 2071. The strategy covers diverse components such as governance reform, massive financial commitments, systematic building of capabilities, infrastructure improvements, ethical frameworks, and cross-sectoral implementation in nine prioritized areas, which include energy, logistics, tourism, healthcare, transport, education, and environmental management.
The UAE AI Strategy 2031 has bold and clear targets that are measurable. It aims to increase the contribution of AI within the UAE’s non-oil economic sectors, to approximately 20% by the year 2031. This will be equivalent to an increase in annual economic value of 335 billion dirhams (approximately 91 billion U.S. dollars).7 Other objectives include increasing the national AI market from AED 12.74 billion in 2023 to AED 170.14 billion by 2030. This constitutes a compound annual growth rate of 44%, in addition to training 10,000 data scientists and machine learning specialists. The establishment of the $100 billion MGX fund— among the largest announced AI-dedicated investment vehicles globally—further solidifies the unprecedented level of the UAE’s financial commitment to the sector.
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