AI to reboot UAE’S skyscraping tech ambitions, away from fossil fuels

Dubai, the gleaming metropolis on the edge of the Arabian desert known for its shiny high-rises, fast life and limitless ambitions, epitomises the UAE's towering tech-fuelled aspirations in more ways than one.

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It is no secret that the Emiratis want to lead the world in artificial intelligence (Al), as they seek to pivot their economy away from fossil fuels. And as part of its intensifying technological ambitions, the Emirates have heralded plans to become the first nation in the world to deploy Al to help write new laws and amend existing ones — a move expected to accelerate its law-making process by up to 70 per cent, but one that has also raised some concerns among technologists.

This novel “Al-driven regulation” system, to be overseen by the newly-created Regulatory Intelligence Office, a unit tasked with managing the Al's integration into its law-making process that will change how laws are created, making the process faster and more precise, according to Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE's Vice President, Prime Minister, and the ruler of Dubai.The Al system, announced just weeks ago, is expected to comb through a comprehensive database of federal laws, court rulings, and government services, and come up proactively with legal updates.

Al's role, said UAE officials attending the third edition of the Machines Can See Summit in Dubai over the weekend — touted as the largest computer vision event and a leading Al gathering in the Gulf region — goes beyond just drafting; the system will track the real-world impact of new laws on the Emirates’ population and economy, allowing the administration to adapt legislation in real time. The plan, though, has raised concerns among researchers and technologists, who have flagged the propensity of Al models to produce unreliable outputs, hallucinate and its potential shortcomings with legal interpretations.