Smart Dubai Office DG spells out criteria for smart city projects

Technology is only a means to an end but, when used correctly and in creative ways, truly innovative technology can create happiness, Dr Aisha bin Bishr says during address at Mobile World Congress n Barcelona

Aisha Bin Bishr, the director general of the Smart Dubai Office, says that technology is only a means to an end, but when used correctly and in creative ways it can create happiness. Pawan Singh / The NationalShow less

Smart city projects must have residents’ happiness and welfare as their focus according to Dr Aisha bin Bishr, the director general of the Smart Dubai Office.

In a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Dr bin Bishr cautioned against the deployment of technology for technology’s sake.

“Technology is only a means to an end, but when used correctly and in creative ways truly innovative technology can create happiness,” she said.

“With Smart Dubai our goal is not to be the most connected city or the city with the most data, rather we are committed to directing our technology towards improving city experiences to positively impact happiness for everyone.”

Spending on the Internet of Things is forecast to rise by 20 per cent to US$7.8 billion in 2017, according to industry analysts IDC.

While much of this figure will come from the manufacturing and transportation segments, the rise of initiatives such as Smart Dubai will be a key contributor to the rise in spending.

“Numerous smart city projects are already under way across the region, and the propagation of such initiatives will continue to fuel IoT adoption by both public and private sector organizations,” said Wale Babalola, a UAE-based analyst for IDC.

Dr bin Bishr delivered a keynote address as part of a session entitled The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which examined the impact of technologies such as big data and the IoT on societies of the fut­ure.

She articulated Dubai’s aspiration to become the benchmark smart city for the emerging world.

Blockchain technology will form the heart of the Smart Dubai vision, said Dr bin Bishr.

“By 2020 we aim to achieve 100 per cent part of government participation on Blockchain, saving the city 25 million productivity hours each year, and over 115 metric tonnes of carbon emissions on paper processing alone,” she said.

Smart Dubai has already launched 121 smart initiatives and 1,129 smart services. These include Saad, a congnitive government assistant powered by IBM Watson, that allows the business community to ask questions related to business licensing and registration regulations.​

Business users have asked Saad over 30,000 questions since the service’s launch in October.