Abu Dhabi will cement itself as a major regional development hub for artificial intelligence, with thousands of visitors expected for the two-day Ai Everything summit on Tuesday.
Main speakers among the 180 lined up to discuss the latest tech developments include Arthur Mensch, co-founder and chief executive of Mistral AI, and Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics. The two companies are focused on generative AI and robotics, respectively.
The event arrives in the UAE at a critical time for AI, as governments and corporations around the world search for effective methods to retain control over a rapidly evolving super-technology that drew huge investment in 2026.
Safety concerns and the rapid rise of AI have dominated discussions in recent months, while unequal opportunities for women in the industry have also been a concern. The summit is taking place at Adnec and is hosted by the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi (DGE).
The Abu Dhabi government aims to transform into the world’s first AI-native government by 2027, with more than 40 government entities integrated into a single AI-driven ecosystem.
More than 100 AI use cases are already live across the emirate’s public services, backed by a $3.54 billion investment programme supporting Abu Dhabi’s wider push towards AI-led public services, economic value creation and responsible deployment.
“Abu Dhabi will become the world’s first AI-native government next year, and the evidence is already clear in the way we're redefining public services for millions of people and businesses,” said Wesam Lootah, director general of GovDigital (DGE).
“We have built the blueprint, and Ai Everything Abu Dhabi is our invitation to the world to examine it, to see what intelligent governance looks like at scale, and the enormous benefits it delivers to people's lives today.”
Future jobs
Job creation and the elimination of some jobs made redundant by emerging technologies will form part of the discussion.
According to analysis by LinkedIn, the number of AI-related job postings has doubled since 2023, and those postings come with attractive remuneration. AI engineers have overtaken machine learning engineers as the most common AI role on LinkedIn, while a typical AI posting offers a salary of around $177,000, compared to $80,000 for a non-AI role.
However, a gender imbalance exists between the number of men and the number of women taking up new positions in the sector. Women accounted for just 25 per cent of AI hires in the US in 2025, compared with 50 per cent in non-AI occupations.
Meanwhile, across 27 countries, women hold just 13 per cent of C-suite leadership roles at AI companies. At US President Donald Trump’s recent AI summit at the White House, just two of the 31 guests and business leaders were women, reflecting a consistent gender gap at the top of the industry.
As companies focus their investments on AI, the pressure to deliver measurable returns is mounting. Ai Everything Abu Dhabi aims to put that proof to the test with a wide showcase of live AI use cases and applications across public services, banking, health care, energy and education.
“Beyond the speculative sheen of AI, its true impact lies in transforming science, services and society,” said Trixie LohMirmand, chief executive of Ai Everything. “Abu Dhabi is moving decisively into that territory, with the leadership assembling the infrastructure, institutions, research capabilities and global partnerships needed to turn AI ambition into national capacity.”
