Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first university dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) launched in October 2019 paves a new era of technological advancements in the UAE.
UAE’s Minister of State Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber says, “The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is an open invitation from Abu Dhabi to the world to unleash AI’s full potential.”
Precisely, State Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber happens to be appointed as one of the board of trustees at the university.
The Present
Ever since the announcement about dedicating he world’s first university to AI, the year 2020 projects to be a great year in making its move toward becoming the global tech hub. This also means that job opportunities for AI experts and AI engineers will increase. Conclusions can be made post-pandemic.
Besides the university, an innovative startup named Derq received funding to make way for AI by building smarter and safer cars and roads in the UAE.
A 24/7 real-time view of the road system is to be developed based on which they can be able to use AI to eliminate crashes and make predictions about the accident blackspots.
Other AI deployment in the UAE include:
- Minimize chronic disease diagnosed in the healthcare sector.
- AI deployment in customer service in the banking sector.
- Reduce operational costs for transport.
- Assist retailers with their predictions on improving sales.
- Boost drilling production in oil and gas.
By 2030, the UAE is predicted to become the leading AI hub. Also, a report by PwC says, AI is bound to be worth USD 320 billion by the end of 2030, accountable for 13.6 percent of the GDP, which is followed by Saudi Arabia with 12.5 percent.
For a region that’s already oil-rich, such forecasts can be overwhelming thus making a huge contribution to the economy.
The government has started investing a huge amount of money, most of which will either be for research, training and development, governance, and infrastructure. Not to mention, when it comes to talking about AI investment, this region is already a frontrunner.
AI is already changing the way we work. This means universities like MBZUAI will need to start developing tools and conducting research, thus harnessing the technology.
Job opportunities will be plentiful. AI experts, AI engineers, AI specialists are some of the job roles that are likely to increase as AI takes the lead.
However, to get the right kind of workforce, people might likely need to shift their occupations. They might need to acquire AI skills and learn how to work with machines. A McKinsey report says that half the jobs around the globe will be automated by AI.
The Future
Undoubtedly AI predicts to be a gamechanger in the global economy. AI looks to contributes up to USD 15.7 percent to the global economy by the end of 2030. It is also likely to say, out of this, nearly USD 6.6 trillion will be received from the increased productivity while USD 9.1 trillion will be from the benefits obtained from the consumers.
As the government continues to push innovation and AI implementation across multiple business domains, the impact might be huge.
Thus said, endless opportunities await those interested to build their careers in AI. The impact of the first wave of digitization had a drastic change in the business models and services. And with AI as an innovative business tool, you might find market leaders as different companies in five to ten years.
The world is already moving toward AI dominion. Though the region is still in its nascent stage, there are still probabilities for the region in becoming the global AI hub.
An IDC research says that the financial sector holds a significant part when it comes to predicting the biggest opportunity in AI. The estimate says about 25 percent of all the investment made by the technology will be used to develop solutions in AI, followed by the education industry, the healthcare sector, the manufacturing sector, and public services.
To explore the frontiers AI aspirants have started enrolling themselves in top AI certification programs available online. As AI revolutionizes the industries in multiple ways, having equipped in AI technology is one way to stay future-ready.
Endnote
Artificial intelligence in the Middle East is set to thrive as strategies are being developed to reinvent the economy.
At its core, the oil business is making quite an investment in utilizing AI to boost efficiency, reduce costs, predict data intelligence, offshore resource findings, safety up-gradation, security network, and automating risky activities. However, in the wake of the pandemic crisis, the region might need to find a solution to calm the violent spots and make up for the losses.
Besides the launch of the university and the Derq project, regions such as Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon possess more than 50 percent of the population under the age of 25, therefore, it is more likely to say that these regions might be just the next ones to embrace AI.
