His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), reaffirmed that AI will be the cornerstone of Dubai’s future. His Highness emphasized that the city is not only prepared to embrace upcoming transformations across various sectors but is actively shaping them—leveraging AI to enhance quality of life and create new opportunities.
Dubai’s vision for AI development
Speaking at the inaugural Dubai AI Week, officially commencing today, Monday, April 21, His Highness highlighted that Dubai possesses the vision, infrastructure, and capabilities necessary to lead the next wave of global AI development. This significant event is organized by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI) and overseen by DFF.
His Highness stated, “More than 10 years ago, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, envisioned a future where every government service would be at our fingertips. Today, we are taking the next bold step into that future.”
AI as the infrastructure of tomorrow
“AI is no longer just a tool – it is the infrastructure for cities that think, services that adapt, and governments that anticipate. In this new era of progress, AI will shape Dubai’s future.” His Highness stressed that the future will be defined by how effectively governments, institutions, and societies integrate AI into their core strategies, especially in public services, education, and the economy.
He added, “We will begin by assessing government entities based on their AI integration and measuring the academic sector by its contributions to AI research and teaching. We will also celebrate the companies advancing Dubai’s AI economy. This is Dubai’s new standard – those who do not embrace AI today will fall behind. See you at Dubai AI Week.”
Highlights of Dubai AI Week
Day 1 of Dubai AI Week features the AI Retreat – a high-level gathering of policymakers and industry experts discussing AI adoption and regulation – alongside the commencement of the Dubai AI Assembly. This assembly will host country delegations, AI-specific activations, and workshops focused on the future of AI implementation across various sectors.
AI Retreat
Dubai AI Week will showcase a diverse range of high-impact activations over five days, starting with the AI Retreat on April 21 at the Museum of the Future. This retreat will convene 150 government officials and global AI experts, hosting four closed-door roundtable discussions on themes such as data governance, infrastructure, economy and investment, and talent development.
The retreat will feature a welcome address from His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and deputy managing director of Dubai Future Foundation. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Michael Spranger, chief operating officer of Sony AI Inc., and Yossi Matias, vice president and head of Google Research.
Dubai Assembly for AI
Running concurrently throughout the week, the Dubai Assembly for AI will take place at AREA 2071 in Emirates Towers from April 21–25. The Assembly will bring together delegations from 15 countries—including South Korea, Canada, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom—as well as 25 global tech companies, 18 government entities, 20 universities and research centers, and 60 AI startups showcasing cutting-edge innovations.
Over 50 sessions will be hosted during the assembly, covering topics such as “Future Forward: Unpacking the Trends Shaping AI” by Gartner, “Agents Amongst Us: Rethinking Work with Agentic AI” by Microsoft, “AI Wearables and the Future of Connectivity” by Meta, “Generative AI Nexus: Commercial Scale Meets Human-Centered Design” by Yango, and “Revolutionizing Education Through Metaverse and AI” by Animoca Brands.
Featured events at Dubai AI Week
Taking place from April 21-25, 2025, Dubai AI Week aims to gather over 10,000 participants from more than 100 nationalities, including global experts, entrepreneurs, policymakers, regulators, investors, and tech innovators. The event strives to accelerate AI adoption across sectors, enhance quality of life, boost economic growth, and create future-ready societies.
Other notable events during the week include the Global Prompt Engineering Championship from April 22-23 at AREA 2071, the Dubai AI Festival organized by DIFC from April 23-24 at Madinat Jumeirah, and the Machines Can See Summit running simultaneously from April 23-24 at AREA 2071 and the Museum of the Future.
Community engagement and sector-specific programs
Complementing these flagship events are community-driven programs, including AI Week in Schools from April 21-25 and the Dubai AI Week Hackathon on April 25 at AREA 2071. The week will also feature sector-specific engagements, such as the HIMSS Executive Summit 2025 on April 23 at Emirates Towers and the International Conference on AI Innovations from April 22-24 at Grand Hyatt Dubai and GDRFA-Dubai.
Together, these activities underscore Dubai’s commitment to shaping the global AI agenda, uniting world-class expertise, and empowering the next generation of AI talent across government, enterprise, education, and emerging technology.
A platform for global collaboration
Dubai AI Week is supported by strategic partners, including Dubai Chambers Digital, Digital Dubai, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and the UAE AI Office, alongside leading global technology firms such as Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, IBM, Google Cloud, PwC, Gartner, SWIFT, Nvidia, Palantir, Cohere, Elevenlabs, and others.
