Artificial intelligence is becoming “more of a lifestyle” and is moving from offices to homes, the chief executive of UAE-based AI major G42 has said.
The home of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, National Security Adviser and G42 chairman, is one example of AI's influence on everyday life, Peng Xiao said during a panel discussion at the Gitex Global technology exhibition in Dubai on Tuesday.
A Japanese compound – with traditional indoor and outdoor living spaces – within the residence overlooking the sea was built in less than a year with the help of ChatGPT, he said.
“The reason why it was so fast in delivery is because the entire design was done with him personally prompting ChatGPT 500 times to design this … and I'm not kidding you, it's real,” Mr Xiao said.
“In addition to this strategically designed compound in Abu Dhabi, if you visit the office of my chairman, you won't see too many employees, because there's a 10-to-one ratio of AI agents working in his office,” he added.
However, he stressed that people remain at the centre of progress, adding that the use of AI agents is a “powerful productivity boost”.
“I think the future is here today. If your home is designed by ChatGPT, if you have more agents working for you than humans, AI has already arrived and [is an] integral part of our everyday life,” Mr Xiao said.
AI adoption is growing at a phenomenal pace globally, with countries such as the UAE fuelling its rapid ascend.
In June, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced that the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence System would become an advisory member of the Cabinet from January 2026.
The system will support decision-making, provide technical analysis and improve policy efficiency.
A month later, Sheikh Mohammed unveiled a federal strategy cycle designed to put AI at the core of government planning and service delivery.
Abu Dhabi is also committing significant funding to ensure its AI strategy's success. About Dh13 billion ($3.53 billion) is being allocated between this year and 2027 to foster innovation and drive AI adoption across government departments.
“We think every country is going to need to have an AI strategy, and it's got to be a top priority for national leadership,” Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI, told delegates on Tuesday.
“The leadership of UAE on this has been incredible to see. I hope this will serve as an example for the rest of the world about what it looks like for a forward-thinking country to really embrace AI and say: 'This is going to be an important part of our future.'”
'Wave of AI transformation'
In May, G42 teamed up with OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia to set up Stargate UAE, a one-gigawatt computing cluster that will operate in the emirate's 5GW UAE-US AI Campus. Cisco and Japan's SoftBank Group are also collaborating on the computing cluster.
Speaking at a separate panel discussion at Gitex on Tuesday, Andrew Jackson, group chief AI officer at G42, said that about 300 megawatts of compute will be up and running by next year, starting the “first wave of transformation”.
Compute relates to the resources needed for AI systems to function, including training models, processing data, and making predictions and giving answers.
“I think we're going to be getting up and running [by next year], and I think by then, we'll have already started a lot of the transformational work,” Mr Jackson said.
Meanwhile, UAE-based Khazna Data Centres, which is delivering the infrastructure layer for Stargate UAE, announced plans on Tuesday to expand operational capacity by more than 1 gigawatt over the next five years. More than 400MW of new capacity will be delivered in key international markets including Saudi Arabia and Italy, it added.
In the UAE, Khazna is developing several new projects, including hyperscale facilities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ajman.
Last month, the company said it secured a 10-year, $2.62 billion financing facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank to support its expansion plans.
"As the world enters an era defined by AI and digital economies, infrastructure is becoming the catalyst for national transformation,” said Hassan Alnaqbi, chief executive of Khazna Data Centres.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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