The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking a strategic alliance with the United States to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. Leveraging its vast oil wealth, the Gulf state aims to become a global superpower in developing cutting-edge AI technology. UAE’s AI minister, Omar Sultan Al Olama, told Techtalk Africa Hub that a recent deal where Microsoft acquired a $1.5 billion stake in Abu Dhabi’s AI champion G42 is just the beginning of a deeper tech collaboration between the two nations.
Strategic AI Alliances and Investments
The Microsoft-G42 deal followed months of negotiations between US and UAE officials. This agreement underscores a commitment to enhance AI capabilities while aligning with US interests. Al Olama emphasized, “Now you’re going to see the outcomes of that marriage, if I may use that word, between both G42 and Microsoft, but also the UAE and the United States.” He added, “When you look at the frontier technology, at the most cutting edge, that needs to be in coordination with the US players and there need to be reassurances that are given to the US.”
AI-Driven Economic Diversification
Fueled by sovereign wealth funds worth about $2 trillion, the UAE’s focus on AI has sharpened this year as it tries to reduce its economic dependence on fossil fuels by positioning itself as a global AI hub. Abu Dhabi has created the investment vehicle MGX, expected to be worth billions of dollars, chaired by the UAE’s powerful national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan. MGX has been in talks with San Francisco-based OpenAI over its chip development plans, and Sheikh Tahnoon has spearheaded discussions between the UAE and the US on AI.
Advancing AI Across Key Sectors
The UAE is building AI capabilities in key sectors from healthcare to defense. Abu Dhabi’s national oil company reported that AI tools helped generate $500 million in cost savings last year by increasing production capacity and streamlining operations. The UAE’s advantage lies in its unparalleled access to capital, attracting industry leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to the nation. The UAE has stockpiled chips needed to power large language models, with Al Olama estimating the country had amassed a backlog that would serve its needs for two years. However, US officials are reportedly trying to slow the shipment of some AI chips to the Middle East, including the UAE.
Concerns Over Advanced AI Technology
Some observers are concerned about the autocratic UAE having access to advanced AI technology. Marietje Schaake, international policy fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, said, “The singular focus on China means other countries can claim to be part of a like-minded coalition, and the US administration gladly turns a blind eye to their human rights violations in the meantime.”
“There is a belief, across all of the leadership levels in the UAE, that AI is a technology that we are going to focus on. The decisions we take today are going to shape how the UAE is for future generations.” Omar Sultan Al Olama
Omar Sultan Ai Olama
Developing Proprietary AI Models
This month, Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) released Falcon 2, its latest large language model, which outside evaluators have assessed as performing as well or better than rival LLMs made by Meta and Google. ATRC has also launched AI71, a commercial AI company developing models based on UAE government data from health authorities and the judicial system. Faisal Al Bannai, ATRC’s secretary-general, noted, “The government data gives the UAE a very strong critical advantage in this game, where there are very few players that have a lot of proprietary data.”
Educational Initiatives and Future Prospects
In 2019, Abu Dhabi opened the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first university dedicated to AI. This institution has helped establish a pipeline for AI talent within the UAE, a major challenge for a country of only 10 million people, most of whom are expatriates. Notably, a significant proportion of the university’s graduate students hail from China, further emphasizing the UAE’s commitment to international collaboration in AI education.
While Abu Dhabi focuses on developing AI technologies, its neighbouring emirate Dubai is dedicated to applying them. Dubai plans to enhance its data centre capacities to support the cloud computing needs of AI and aims to create AI clusters around established industries like finance. According to Al Olama, “There is a belief, across all of the leadership levels in the UAE, that AI is a technology that we are going to focus on. The decisions we take today are going to shape how the UAE is for future generations.”
