The UAE's special envoy for business and philanthropy believes the time for talking about artificial intelligence is over and co-ordination to ensure it works to its optimum should be the goal.
In an interview with The National at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Badr Jafar said the UAE was perfectly placed to bring about AI co-ordination to make the most of the promising and sometimes controversial technology.
"The way I see it, the world doesn't need more AI conversations; I think it needs AI co-ordination," he said. "What the UAE brings to AI is similar what the UAE brings to Davos. AI cuts across policy, capital, public trust and what we offer in the UAE is the ability to bring government, companies, investors and of course philanthropic institutions into the same arena."
Mr Jafar's schedule at Davos has been packed as he pushes the UAE's vision for how AI will benefit society on several levels, meeting various officials, executives and thought leaders.
The country’s acknowledgement of AI's potential and affinity with research into the technology has helped create start-ups, partnerships and investments from industry leaders such as Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.
The UAE has also teamed up with the US to develop an AI campus in Abu Dhabi, which will have 5 gigawatts of capacity for data centres.
Mr Jafar said the UAE's zeal for AI is rooted in more than the promise of enhanced productivity and bottom lines.
"It's all about how AI can be deployed responsibly to support jobs and inclusive growth," he said. Government projects and philanthropic endeavours can also be enhanced by harnessing AI, he added.
He said the UAE's track record of "deep partnerships with high-growth economies" makes it the ideal country to lead the way in AI management and use, as well as guardrails to protect users.
In Dubai, AI seals were introduced to make it easier to evaluate the many companies promoting AI services and avoid tools that might not be up to scratch.
Last year, the country was the first in the Arab world to join the Hiroshima AI Process Friends Group, which was created during the G7 summit in Japan and seeks to pursue AI advancement while curtailing the potential problems posed by the fast-evolving technology.
The UAE also joined Pax Silica, a US-led bloc aimed at advancing innovation and supply chains as demand for AI surges.
"It's often spoken about as if it's some kind of trade off but I'm of the firm belief that innovation and governance aren't trade-offs, they're complements," he said.
Mr Jafar highlighted several measures to illustrate that the UAE's approach is working.
He noted a recent report from Microsoft, which found the UAE was leading the way globally in terms of "AI diffusion", which broadly means the adoption of the technology and adapting its use.
"Public trust in AI deployment in the UAE is significantly higher when compared to the US and most of Europe," he said.
"The role of countries like the UAE and its ability to bridge divisions and to execute – those things help make the UAE a valuable contributor to the world."
