UAE has increased its focused on promoting advanced technology considering the development of the nation. It is just two months back only His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had announced on Twitter about the Centennial 2071 project.

On unveiling the Centennial 2071 project he announced “Brothers and sisters, today we launched the UAE Centennial 2071 project to put in place a vision that extends to five decades and to prepare the nation for future generations.”

According to Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Future Skills 2030 Report, there are five driving sources which shape the future of jobs and skills in the world and of course, the latest technological trend Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one among them. UAE government has also designed special programs for developing skills on these realms which we will discuss towards the end of this discussion.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.

Let’s explain it in simple words. Artificial intelligence is a theory and development of computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Speech recognition, decision-making, visual perception are features of human intelligence that artificial intelligence may possess.

We come across AI in our day-to-day life in several forms but without recognizing it as AI. Some of them are listed below:

• Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa and other smart assistants
• Face recognition systems
• Self-driving cars
• Robo-advisors
• Conversational bots
• Email spam filters

Artificial Intelligence and its role in UAE’s future Economy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to be a big game changer in the global economy. Considering the recent survey reports, the global spending on AI is expected to surge to more than $7 billion per year by 2022. As per the Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index published in 2019 surveying 190 countries worldwide, UAE is at the top of the Arab world for its readiness to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

How UAE is adopting AI?

The UAE government has already started working on developing strategies for AI implementation. The first Artificial Strategy by UAE government was launched in 2017. UAE has already made a master plan to become the world leader in AI by 2031. The government has decided to implement AI across various sectors like education, technology, infrastructure development, transportation, space etc.

The country has already set up an AI ministry in 2017 to create a long-term AI strategy. The ministry has proposed to adopt an AI curriculum and launch six smart platforms to integrate technology within the education system. As per the reports, around 600 schools with nearly 275,000 students and 21,000 teachers will work on these platforms.

UAE aims to boost its GDP by around 35% ($96 billion) using AI technologies. As a part of this, UAE government has already started integrating AI in some of the following sectors:

• Health care field: The government has already utilized AI in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic by integrating AI in the health care field. The government has also proposed to use AI and robotics to automate surgeries and other procedures.
• Aviation sector: UAE’s aviation authority has already started exploring the use of AI in air traffic controlling. They have also deployed automated robots in the airports to recognize the suspected criminals making using of face detection system.

The ministry has started its ‘Think AI Initiative’ to develop an “integrated system that employs artificial intelligence in vital areas in the UAE”.

As per the latest reports from various sources, near to 100 AI startups are registered in UAE. In November 2021, Khalifa Fund and Stallion AI announced the launch of the ‘AI Entrepreneur Programme’ (AIE). The Program aims to empower 75 young entrepreneurs over the course of 9-weeks to build AI-first startups in the UAE. The AIE Programme presents new simplified scientifically-driven ways to build an innovative startup and shows entrepreneurs how to spot valuable opportunities in the new AI economy.

UAE government has also initiated special programs for promoting developing AI skills as it is recognized as the future building technology. AS per the UAE’s government portal, the following special programs have been initiated by the government for the promotion of AI in the future generation; and it includes even a Bachelor Degree in AI.

National Program for Artificial Intelligence

The UAE government launched the UAE National Program for Artificial Intelligence – BRAIN which defines and underlines various initiatives, collaborations, partnerships and breakthroughs in the field of AI. These initiatives include:

• Training programmes for government employees

The National Program for Artificial Intelligence launched a one-year AI training programme for government employees.

• UAE AI Camp

The AI summer and spring camps’ programme focuses on empowering high school students, university students and government executives to lead AI and transform it into a strategic power that supports economy and boosts the UAE’s position globally in all fields. Read more about the UAE AI Camp.

• UAE AI Internship programme

The National Program for Artificial Intelligence made an agreement with Dell EMC to train 500 Emirati students in artificial intelligence via an internship programme. The UAE AI internship programme aims at bridging the gap in the skills required in the technology sector and supporting youth and improving their potential to enable them to meet future challenges in the rapidly changing technology sector.

• First Bachelor Degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The British University in Dubai launched the first Bachelor Degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country to educate the young generation to implement AI technologies across all sectors of life. Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, inaugurated the new specialisation offered as part of the computer science programme, which will teach undergraduates related sciences, coding and programming.

You might have heard a lot about how humans on the jobs are going to be replaced by smart technologies. That does not mean that people are likely to lose their jobs and be in pursuit of one. It simply means that organizations are going to be under pressure to look out for AI trained people. The shortage of trained AI professionals does exist and is only going to increase in the coming years.

So, it makes absolute sense for all the techies to look at this emerging area, get adequate learning for what it takes and launch yourself into a super career. Some of those jobs could be:

• Machine learning researcher/ engineer
• AI engineer
• Data mining and analysis
• Data scientist
• Business Intelligence developer
• AI research scientist

Build your career in AI through different online and offline certifications. We at HRavailable offer career counselling and guidance for professionals from any stream. In order to grab a perfect job in the field of AI, the well experienced career counselors at HRavailable could help you.

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