Kuri will arrive in our homes early in the New Year. The chirruping 50 cm high robot can trundle around entertaining your kids, take photographs when it thinks you are doing something interesting, wake you up in the morning and greet you at the front door.
All yours for US$799 (Dh 2,934).
The makers of Kuri, an American start up backed by Bosch, believe that robots like this, and jibo, a similar product, are the future we will all live in.
Artificially intelligent household robots, they are betting, will perform more and more of the mundane tasks in our households. Within a relatively short time they will also become increasingly sophisticated and smarter, serving us and our children in all sorts of ways, understanding our needs and making life easier.
Some believe they will even be able to look after our children, or the elderly and infirm, as well as any human carer.
The implication for a country like the UAE are enormous. It is estimated that around 95 per cent of children here are cared for by a nanny, either live-in or part time.
The number of nannies working here is estimated at around 750,000, almost all women from low income countries, and often supporting families of their own back home.
What happens globally when it makes more economic sense to spend several thousand dirhams on a robot nanny rather than employ a flesh and blood one?
This is just one of the implications of the advances in artificial intelligence. For some this vision of the future is troubling.
In a 2010 paper for the University of Sheffield, The Crying Shame of Robot Nannies, the authors, Noel and Amanda Sharkey, wrote: "Our concerns are about the evolving use of childcare robots and the potential dangers they pose for children and society."
One of their worries is that young children will form an emotional attachment with their robot carers, and have difficulty distinguishing real emotions and interactions from artificial ones.
Others have an even more apocryphal view of the role artificial intelligence in our future. Stephen Hawking, the brilliant theoretical physicist and cosmologist, believes that we will all be eventually replaced by artificial intelligence.
In an interview with Wired this November, he predicted: "I fear that AI may replace humans altogether.
“If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”
Not everyone shares this terrifying vision of the future that seems to come straight from the Terminator series.
Omar Al Olama was earlier this year appointed to the UAE Cabinet as the world’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence. In his first public engagement he enthused at the potential of AI to help us meet environmental challenges, from energy efficiency to combating climate change.
“Everyone is looking at AI either as a utopian or dystopian scenario, either good or bad,” the minister said.
The reality, he said, was that AI is still at such an early stage, that predictions of doom were “Still a long time away.”
The world, he promised, would not: “See the negative any time soon.”
At the age of 27, the minister will live a life in which AI plays an increasingly important – or intrusive, depending on your point of view – role
But the building blocks being laid down by the UAE Government now, extend potentially even beyond his lifespan
The UAE, in particular, sees artificial intelligence as a fundamental building block for a more prosperous future.
The country's strategy on artificial intelligence was unveiled in October and is the first project in what has been called UAE Centennial 2017, when the UAE celebrates its 100 birthday - and the minister will be 81 years old.
The uses of artificial intelligence go hand in hand with what is increasingly being called Smart Government, meaning services that are in tune with the demands of consumers and are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
It also offers potentially huge savings at a time when the UAE is transitioning to a post-oil economy.
The AI strategy estimates a reduction annually of 250 million paper transactions by the Federal Government, a cut of 190 million man hours, and will save customers driving 1,000 million kilometers to obtain services. As a result, the cost of Government is predicted to be halved.
The sectors the UAE envisage as being crucial to the AI strategy range from health, transport, and education, to traffic, renewable energy, and outer space, where the country is already envisaging a city on Mars by 2017.
As Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid wrote in a column for The National in 2015: "In this age of rapid change, those who lag behind become irrelevant – in a heartbeat.
“Countries whose governments grow old face the same fate as outdated companies. Their choice is simple: innovate, or become irrelevant.”
The advances in artificial intelligence locally certainly provided some of the most eye-catching headlines of 2017. Dubai, for example, has stated its intention to have one in four journeys made by autonomous vehicles by 2030.
Driverless vehicles depend heavily on some form of artificial intelligence to help them navigate safely and efficiently. Nowhere will this be more important than in the flying taxis the city is hoping to introduce in the near future.
These computers controlled machines – essentially flying drones capable of carrying two fare-paying passengers – will place people’s lives in the hands of AI. The first unmanned test flights have already taken place, inching a vision of the future ever closer to our everyday lives.
Read more: World's first self-flying taxi coming to Dubai 'within months'
The UAE is not alone investigating the potential of artificial intelligence, but is seen internationally as a pioneer. It means increasingly that international businesses look at it as place they need to do business in.
Siemens, the software giant, is developing a transport and logistics centre next to Dubai World Central Airport and the site of Expo 2020. The company’s strategy is based on AI as a job creator rather than a job destroyer.
"If you would have worried about the people feeding the horses and taking care of them in the past, we would never have combustion cars," Siemens chief technology officer, Roland Busch, told The National earlier this month.
“It’s technology rolling in, it kills certain jobs, you don’t need so many horses anymore. In these kind of disruptive changes you always some jobs which are transformed and others which are created.”
It was back in 1955 when an American computer scientist John McCarthy developed the first modern theory of artificial intelligence, as the creation of a machine that could perform tasks like a human, including problem solving and self-improvement.
Is that goal any closer, 62 years later? At the University of Maryland, a robot has learned basic cooking skills by watching instructional videos on YouTube.
“Chatbots” are computer programmes that deliver responses to questions in a human like way. Increasingly they are used for customer service hotlines, while sales of responsive devices for the home and smartphones, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home have exploded this year. Along with Apple’s Siri, they are now embedded in our daily existence. Sometimes we do not even realise we are using them.
But human-like is not the same as human. In October, it was reported that a robot called Sophia, and developed by Hong Kong based Hanson Robotics, had been given citizenship by Saudi Arabia after “addressing” a future investment conference in the Kingdom.
This was, it was claimed, the first time a robot had been given citizenship in any country. Later, Sophia’s creator, Jimmy Fallow, who had previously claimed his creation was “basically alive”, reported that the robot since had become an advocate for women’s rights, an observation that seemed more to reflect his own agenda as the robot’s programmer.
If Sophia serves as anything, it is to highlight the gulf between the perceived abilities of AI and the current, and likely near future, reality.
“An AI system, or a robot, cannot have any opinion. An AI program has nothing to offer in a debate. It doesn’t even know what a debate is,” Raja Chatilia, head of the Global Initiative for Ethic Considerations in Artificial Intelligence, told one interviewer when asked about Sophia.
“In this case, it doesn’t even know what women are, and what rights are. It’s just repeating some text that a human programmer has input in it.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 592bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Price: Dh980,000
On sale: now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20653hp%20at%205%2C400rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20800Nm%20at%201%2C600-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%208-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E0-100kph%20in%204.3sec%0D%3Cbr%3ETop%20speed%20250kph%0D%3Cbr%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20NA%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Q2%202023%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.