His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, announced that the AI Retreat will become an annual event on Dubai’s calendar. The next AI Retreat is set to take place on April 29, 2025.
The AI Retreat 2024, the first event held as part of the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence (DUB.AI), wrapped lately in Dubai. The event aimed to strengthen Dubai’s position as a global hub for AI.
Doubling the positive impact of AI
H.H. Sheikh Hamdan stated that the goal for the next phase is to double the positive impact of AI for the betterment of humanity, to be achieved through the annual “Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence,” which includes initiatives and programs to enhance Dubai’s economic competitiveness, resilience, quality of life, and future-readiness.
Transformative impact of AI across sectors
H.H. said the retreat will serve as an annual platform to examine the transformative impact of AI across all sectors. It will provide a forum to prepare for seizing AI’s diverse opportunities, value-added applications, and the qualitative leaps it promises in areas like education, health, development, research, and future design.
Embracing innovation to transform AI opportunities
He noted that Dubai’s embrace of innovation, led by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has empowered the emirate to swiftly transform AI opportunities into tangible outcomes. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan expressed eagerness to accelerate the shift from exploring AI possibilities to practical implementation.
Widespread participation and new initiatives
Moreover, the AI Retreat 2024 drew participation from over 2,500 decision-makers, AI experts, and industry leaders, including around 50 CEOs from major technology companies like Microsoft, IBM, Google, Amazon, Oracle, SAP, Nvidia, and Samsung. The event saw the launch of new initiatives and partnerships by government entities and private companies.
Read more: Sheikh Hamdan appoints 22 Chief AI Officers across government entities in Dubai
Leveraging outcomes for government efficiency
H.H. Sheikh Hamdan further met with Dubai government leaders, including H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to discuss leveraging the outcomes and discussions from the AI Retreat to enable government entities to seize AI opportunities and become future-ready and efficient. He also met with the recently appointed 22 Chief AI Officers of Dubai government entities, emphasizing the need to accelerate the government’s alignment with the AI revolution.
Harnessing AI to support human capabilities
Furthermore, H.H. reiterated the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to harness AI applications to support human capabilities, improve operational efficiency, enhance productivity, and deploy technology for the purpose of serving humanity.
Identifying solutions and opportunities at roundtables
The AI Retreat 2024 also featured roundtables at the Museum of the Future, focusing on topics such as Funding and Finance, Computing and Digital Infrastructure, Data Regulation and Policies, and Talent Ecosystem, to identify solutions and key opportunities in AI, including policies, legislation, governance, and the development of AI data centers, as well as its key enablers such as financing, research, and talent.
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