Governments must introduce boundaries for artificial intelligence or risk losing control of the technology, the UAE's AI minister warned.
“We do not have time to afford to wait for this to get out of hand,” Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said at the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on Wednesday.
Speaking at the two-day World Economic Forum event, Mr Al Olama compared the situation to the advent of social media, with governments only now trying to tackle technology that emerged more than 15 years ago.
“So today, we're talking about the issues that social media is causing … and some of the guidelines that we are needing,” he said. “But I'd say social media was a problem in 2008, 2007 – and today we're talking about potential solutions. And we have seen the impact in politics … in mental health … in the crises we're seeing.”
Mr Al Olama stressed the need for proactive regulations to address the rapid evolution of AI and its implications for national and international security.
“If decision-makers are aware of what is happening around them, they'll be able to take the right decisions,” he said. Awareness of emerging trends is key to effective governance, he added.
“The pretext to everything that we're doing in the UAE is awareness – understanding what are the trends and what are the tides that are shifting,” he said.
Mr Al Olama emphasised the UAE's position as an agile and ambitious nation capable of attracting global talent. “In the UAE, there is a palpable sense of urgency to create the future,” he said. “You come here and you feel like there's an urgency to create the future. It is something in the air.”
Lauren Woodman, co-chairwoman of the Global Future Council on Data Equity and AI Governance, acknowledged the complexities involved in regulating AI.
“How do we make sure that we are building the right incentives in place for AI to be used for good?” she said, stressing the importance of transparency and accountability.
Mr Al Olama repeated that the challenges posed by AI are not new. He noted that technology has historically been used for beneficial and harmful purposes.
“You’re speaking about this as if it's a new phenomenon, but it's not. It's been a phenomenon since the advent of the technological age,” he said.
He called for a shift from reactive to proactive approaches in regulating AI, emphasising the need for urgency. He also highlighted the role of media in educating the public about the technology.
“The job of the media is to ensure that this is top of mind, so that there is enough of this in the public discourse, that your governments can take more action,” he said.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
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Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
