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UAE is employing AI in various fields to accelerate digital transformation, says minister

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama says the UAE government attaches great importance to keeping pace with global advancements

The UAE embraces artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and tools across various sectors, with the objective of accelerating the digital transformation process and enriching performance standards, a UAE minister has said.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications; Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office and Chairman of the UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, said that this is ultimately bolstering the readiness and competitiveness, under the leadership of the President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Al Olama said this during a meeting of the UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain held at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in Dubai. The meeting was attended by the council's members, including Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director-General of the Department of eGovernment — Sharjah Government; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Saif Al Sharqi, Head of the E-Government in Fujairah; Younis Haji Al Khoori, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance; Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy; Dr Mohammed Salim Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap); Dr Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mualla, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education for Academic Affairs; Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, Director-General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), Mohammed bin Taliah, Chief of Government Services of the UAE Government.

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Al Olama said that the UAE government attaches great importance to keeping pace with global advancements to proactively address opportunities and challenges. This commitment entails fostering collaboration among diverse government entities, with the overarching objective of expediting the UAE's digital transformation. By embracing digital best practices and harnessing the potential of technology, the UAE aims to forge new opportunities and design innovative models that lay the foundation for a sustainable economy.

The UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain is currently focusing on the activation in the second phase of its work, which aims to adopt AI initiatives to employ AI in government entities, develop AI systems, and increase the UAE's competitiveness in priority sectors through the development of AI-powered customer services, in a way that contributes to improving the wellbeing, enhancing performance, and establishing an effective legislative and regulatory environment.

During the meeting, the Energy Committee reviewed the projects workflow and examined the workflow of the unified data platform and the centralisation of federal and local authorities under one platform.

The Transportation and Logistics Committee reviewed the development and study of the self-driving vehicles project, which will transform the transportation sector, while the Foreign Trade Committee discussed the mechanism of the UAE's foreign trade smart programme, a data platform that incorporates AI features, taking into consideration data security issues, to predict the future of the trade sector.

The meeting addressed the challenges associated with data sharing and emphasised the importance of unifying efforts to share data securely. The meeting also highlighted the significance of unifying specific initiatives within the environment and sustainability sector, in line with the Year of Sustainability 2023.

Furthermore, the Industry Committee announced the completion of several projects and reviewed the Empowerment Centre programme and Make it in the Emirates initiative, aimed at encouraging investors and innovators' participation and promoting industrial sector growth in the UAE.

The Health Committee also announced the completion of various initiatives, including a review of the "Tatmeen" platform, the national platform that facilitates coordination between the government and private sectors, enabling efficient tracking of medicines from production to patient use. The committee's efforts focus on enhancing health and smart services in the ministry, ultimately improving overall healthcare efficiency.

The Blockchain Committee reviewed the progress in the development of the guide that educates the community about government entities' services provided through digital wallets. The aim is to increase awareness and knowledge among the society and enhance the well-being. The committee also examined registration statistics for digital wallets and adoption rates of the digital trust platform.

The Data Sharing committee specialised in AI training discussed the mechanism for developing their AI Project. Additionally, the Committee for the AI-powered Educational System outlined plans for collaboration between the Ministry of Education and entities from the government and private sectors to promote competitive scientific research in the field of AI.

The Artificial Intelligence Adoption Committee reviewed the latest statistics on the AI initiatives in government services. They also discussed the working mechanism of the unified Chatbot platform, which incorporates AI technology.

The UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain was re-formed in 2021 after its launch on February 26, 2018, to enhance AI utilisation efforts, develop blockchain, and drive the new promising sector in new ways that enhance performance, work models, and reflect positively on society.