Dubai has launched a new accelerator programme to apply agentic artificial intelligence across government services, marking a significant step in the emirate's push to future-proof public sector operations.
The Dubai Future Foundation announced the agentic AI for Government Services Accelerator under its Dubai Future Accelerators initiative.
The programme will help government entities create prototypes to use in AI-powered services within significantly shorter time frames. In its first phase, the accelerator will bring together 33 Dubai government entities and assess more than 300 public-facing use cases to identify those with the greatest potential for agentic AI development.
The project is being organised by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with Digital Dubai and the Dubai Electronic Security Centre. Participants will work alongside technology companies certified under the Dubai AI Seal, a recognition programme designed to identify trusted AI firms operating in the emirate.
What is agentic AI?
Agentic AI is an advanced form of autonomous artificial intelligence that can work independently without constant human supervision.
Unlike traditional or standard generative AI, which responds to prompts and waits for the next instruction, agentic AI can act like an independent project manager, making decisions and executing them through external software systems.
When given an objective, rather than trying to solve the entire problem immediately, agentic AI breaks the goal into smaller tasks, allowing it to process a number of ways to reach the end goal. It evaluates the various paths as it goes and corrects mistakes as and when needed.
It is this ability to monitor its own progress that makes it particularly useful. If there is a problem, it does not wait for a human to fix it, but self-corrects in real time, allowing it to take on complex tasks that can last for hours or days.
Anticipating residents' needs
Hamad Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai, said the programme represented a shift from responding to residents' needs to anticipating them.
“The future of digital government cannot be shaped by any single entity; it requires an integrated ecosystem that brings together expertise, data and capabilities around a common goal,” he said.
Khalfan Belhoul, chief executive of Dubai Future Foundation, said the launch aligned with directives from Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of DFF, to position Dubai as the world's leading city in the adoption of agentic AI across government services.
“Artificial intelligence has opened new horizons for governments to imagine the future, design next-generation solutions and services, and bring them to life,” Mr Belhoul said. “Government entities can now significantly shorten traditional development cycles and processes, enabling them to enhance the quality and effectiveness of their services within much shorter time frames.
“Dubai has all the foundations required to lead this transformation, including an agile regulatory ecosystem and advanced infrastructure that enable government entities to rapidly advance the quality of their services.”
Yousuf Al Shaibani, chief executive of the Dubai Electronic Security Centre, emphasised that cybersecurity must be embedded throughout the process.
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping how government services are designed and delivered. Cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought in the adoption of AI. It must be embedded at every stage, from planning and design to operation and monitoring,” Mr Al Shaibani said.
