UAE President issues federal decree to appoint advanced technology adviser

Edge Group chairman Faisal Al Bannai will advise Sheikh Mohamed and will hold the rank of minister

Faisal Al Bannai will advise President Sheikh Mohamed on technology matters. Pawan Singh / The National

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed has issued a federal decree appointing Faisal Al Bannai as Adviser for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs.

Mr Al Bannai will hold the rank of Government minister, Wam reported on Friday.

The business executive is Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) and chairman of the board of directors of Edge Group, the Abu Dhabi-based defence and technology company.

The UAE prides itself as one of the world’s front-runners in advanced technology. Artificial intelligence is one such area in which the country is particularly well-placed to develop and innovate.

During a speech at the World Governments Summit in Dubai this year, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman praised how the UAE has embraced AI.

“[AI] could decide what sort of auditing and safety measures need to be in place before you could deploy a superintelligence system,” he said.

“For a bunch of reasons, the UAE would be well positioned to be a leader in the discussions around that.”