An AI minister, a university that teaches AI, an AI training program for one million people in three years, a huge investment fund dedicated to AI, a world championship of AI engineering… The United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai, are preparing for a post-oil future…
Already engaged in the race to "Who will be the best in the world in Artificial Intelligence", the United Arab Emirates, and particularly the Emirate of Dubai, increasingly display their ambition to become the world center of artificial intelligence. The latest project: the futuristic Gulf metropolis known for its skyscrapers has committed to train one million people in AI over the next three years. This ambitious program, entitled “One Million AI Prompters”, is a world first.
A Commitment to the Future
Preparing for the post-oil era: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been working on it for several years now. Dubai in particular, which according to some experts has only ten years of oil reserves left. The first symbolic and visible sign of this new strategy was the appointment in 2017 of the The world's first Minister of State in charge of "AI", of the digital economy and remote working applications,” Omar Al Olama. Since then, the UAE has opened in 2019 a university dedicated to AI, and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, “Mubadala Investment Company” created a $100 billion AI fund.
Generate interest, attract talent
To achieve its goal of becoming the world capital of AI, Dubai has just moved up a gear by launching a three-year program called "One million AI prompters".
" We want to be the most future-ready city, continuing to prepare for the AI era by developing expertise and skills that support global technological changes and position Dubai at the forefront of innovation. ",
said at the launch of the initiative, the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) (the body in charge of overseeing this vast AI stimulation program).
Transition to an AI Economy
To prepare for the post-oil era, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set itself a very ambitious goal: By 2031, 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP) will need to be generated by artificial intelligence.To this end, they invest billions by the hundreds, attract scientific talent from all over the world while massively supporting technological start-ups.
Among the tools implemented, Dubai bets on “prompt engineering”. This essential technique consists of knowing and understanding the capabilities, limitations and nuances of different AI models to develop precise and effective instructions to get the most out of generative AI in a minimum of time, in various tasks. A skill already recognized as one of the most crucial and promising in the world of work of tomorrow.
A 1st AI World Championship
To inaugurate and promote its “One Million AI Promptters” initiative, Dubai hosted the first "World Query Engineering Championship" at the end of May 2024.«. Participants competed in various categories, ranging from literature to art, with the aim of demonstrating the versatility of AI tools. This amazing competition attracted thousands of entries from over a hundred countries, and finalists from thirteen countries competed for the title of world's best prompt engineer. ! The three winners – an Australian in the Art category, and two Indians, in the Coding and Literature categories, shared a cheque for one million dirhams (273,000 $) offered by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI).
Already Strategic Alliances with Technology Giantss
This offensive strategy has now earned the UAE increasing appeal as strategic partners by global technology giants. Microsoft, Google and IBM, for example, have participated in the AI Championship through workshops and have widely expressed interest in future collaborations. Microsoft, for example, recently invested $1.5 billion in G42, a UAE-based technology holding company. This strategic investment helps build the UAE’s position as a global hub for artificial intelligence. Like a virtuous circle, it also offers Dubai new opportunities for innovation and growth.
