The Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) has announced the launch of a policy specifically designed to oversee the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the region as well as look into security related concerns surrounding AI. The Dubai AI Security Policy aims to bolster confidence in AI solutions and technologies, promote their growth and development, and mitigate electronic security risks.
The new policy was unveiled during the inaugural Dubai AI & Web3 Festival 2024. This initiative plays a vital role in boosting trust, fostering the growth and development of AI technologies, and solidifying Dubai’s position as a global hub for AI. It also aims to protect innovations from cyber threats, enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors, and attract AI investments to the Emirate.
His Excellency Yousuf Al Shaibani, CEO of the Dubai Electronic Security Center, said, “This policy marks a significant milestone in the Center’s journey to realize Dubai’s annual plan, accelerating the adoption of AI applications and technologies in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai. It serves as a cornerstone in supporting the roadmap to enhance the quality of life in Dubai by integrating AI across all vital sectors, aligning with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to double Dubai’s economy over the next decade and position it among the top three global economic cities.”
In a press release, the DESC further said that AI has become a foundational pillar for driving innovation and building a knowledge-based economy and society. To this end, the Center is committed to establishing clear and precise security standards that ensure the safe and responsible use of AI technologies, including generative AI models, safeguarding them from cybersecurity risks.
Dubai embracing everything AI
The policy comes at a time when there is an exponential growth in the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies across the Middle East, especially in Dubai that has long been a business and technology hub. Dubai authorities are committed to managing this growth in the most optimum manner by creating and maintaining a stable and secure regulatory framework.
According to a report by Grand View Research, the UAE artificial intelligence market size was valued at US$ 3.47 billion in 2023, and is projected to grow at a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 43.9 percent between 2024 and 2030.
Recently, Digital Dubai, an entity established to oversee Dubai’s digital transformation, has approved a series of measures to implement the Strategic Vision for the Data Center Economy in Dubai to make the city a leading destination for sustainable data centers that are ready for a rapidly transforming digital economy driven by AI. The measures include developing high-performance computing, ensuring the use of advanced data centers, increasing reliance on renewable energy, facilitating relevant government procedures, improving access to renewable energy, improving the process of saving energy, and enhancing the government’s coordination role in terms of planning, land, energy, and others.
Then just last week, Dubai AI Campus, the largest dedicated cluster of AI companies in the region at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Innovation Hub, and Google Cloud announced a collaboration agreement that seeks to leverage Google Cloud’s expertise and resources to boost the start-up ecosystem within the Dubai AI Campus, and accelerate their expansion. The Dubai AI Campus is a dedicated ecosystem for AI and Web3 innovation providing physical and digital infrastructure, as well as R&D facilities, accelerator programmes and collaborative workspaces, to attract, build and scale startups in the region.