Dubai: WGS 2023 closes with spotlight on sustainability, climate change, education, future of technology

The World Government Summit (WGS), which concluded on Wednesday, represents the UAE as it looks towards the future and is a force for good for humanity, the country’s Vice-President has said. Over 80 agreements were signed during the three-day event, tweeted His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The summit brought together several heads of state and ministers; 10,000 thought leaders, government officials and experts; and 80 global organisations to brainstorm a tech-enabled future that’s sustainable. The summit called for adopting artificial intelligence (AI), but also stressed the importance of regulating it.

Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and WGS Chairman, highlighted how AI adoption is inevitable and not optional, while Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, called for technology to be inclusive.

One UAE minister said AI-powered language model ChatGPT was not yet ready to write his speech, while another read out one that was generated by the tool.

Musician and technology entrepreneur will.i.am feared a day when he would receive a call from “something that looks like my mom, but is not my mom” as he called for regulating AI.

Sustainability was high on the agenda, with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President-Designate, COP28, highlighting the “hard reality” that global emissions must fall 43 per cent by 2030. Dubai announced a project that includes a feasibility study for building a hydrogen fuelling station. At the federal level, the UAE launched the Industrial Technology Transformation Index to drive digitalisation and sustainability in industry.

Actor and UN Goodwill Ambassador Idris Elba was all praise for Dubai, saying the city deserved an Oscar award for its incredible story.

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