UAE tops Arab region in adoption of AI solutions

DUBAI / WAM

A report by the Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus (Dtec) revealed that the UAE ranks first in the region in terms of enterpr-ise adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) applications with an annual growth rate of 33.5 percent. Dtec is a wholly owned technology hub by Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA).
The report titled, ‘artificial intelligence adoption in enterprise 2018’, was prepared in collaboration with ArabNet and startAD, an innovation and entrepreneurship platform anchored at New York University Abu Dhabi and powered by Tamkeen.
While the report predicts that AI adoption will account for 45 percent of the world economy’s total gains by 2030, the UAE ranks first in the Arab world in terms of expected annual growth of AI contribution to the economy at 33.5 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia at 31.3 percent, the rest of the GCC region at 28.8 percent, and Egypt at 25.5 percent.
Unveiled on Tuesday at the Dtec Forum for Emerging Technology Companies at Dtec in Dubai Silicon Oasis, the report compares levels of adoption of AI solutions among companies in the region and the world. The document also outlines strategies and mechanisms for implementing AI solutions at the institutional level, in addition to highlighting internal and external incentives that encourage companies to adopt these solutions.
The report quotes PwC’s 2017 forecasts that the contribution of AI to the global economy will increase to $15.7 trillion by 2030, and that AI will contribute $96 billion to (13.6 percent) to the UAE GDP by 2030.
The report identifies multiple solutions AI can offer to compa-nies, including operational appli-cations, automation of robotic operations, reengineering of business processes, blockchain, big data analysis for marketing, customer care and data management, as well as using neural programming in talent search.
Speaking on the findings, Shahla Ahmed Abdul Razak, Deputy CEO DSOA, said, “The results of the report reiterate our country’s continued success in implementing the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of Artificial Intelligence, highlighted the strategy’s latest developments during the annual meetings of the UAE government in November 2018.”