The UAE established a dedicated ministerial portfolio for artificial intelligence in 2017 and expanded it in 2020 to align AI with the digital economy and modern work models. The portfolio is held by His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications. His remit is executed in concert with the federal Artificial Intelligence Office, which coordinates programs, stakeholders, and guidance across the federation.
Core remit and institutional setup
At the center is policy leadership (the minister) and delivery coordination (the Artificial Intelligence Office). The office’s public materials describe roles that include shaping policies and strategies, convening entities, and advancing AI skills and responsible deployment—making it the administrative engine that turns cabinet direction into work plans. Notably, the office also highlights national upskilling efforts such as the 1 Million AI Talents initiative.
Policy backbone: UAE AI Strategy 2031
The UAE AI Strategy 2031 supplies the long-range framework. It targets global leadership by embedding AI in priority sectors and public administration, supported by data governance and talent development.
Some documents place the strategy within the country’s broader vision—useful context for describing how AI policy connects to economic competitiveness and service quality.
How Emirates execute federal direction
While the ministry sets national direction, execution happens within emirates through aligned programs and governance bodies.
Dubai’s Universal Blueprint for AI (DUB.AI) is a rolling, annual plan to accelerate AI adoption. Early measures included appointing Chief AI Officers across government entities to institutionalize accountability for AI outcomes and ensure line-of-business ownership. In parallel, the city launched Dubai.AI, a portal that centralizes access to services and information, illustrating how AI-enabled interfaces reach residents and businesses.
Abu Dhabi also created the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC) by law to steer policy, research, infrastructure and investment.
Governance guardrails and ethics
Responsible deployment is codified in guidance documents and assessments. Dubai’s AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines (2019) set expectations for fairness, accountability, transparency and explainability, with a self-assessment toolkit to operationalize the principles in agencies and firms. These materials are frequently referenced as baseline guardrails within the UAE’s AI governance landscape.
Councils and coordination
The UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, chaired by the minister, convenes leaders from federal and local entities to review initiatives and drive cross-government alignment. Recent meetings reported by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) underline that the council monitors progress across sub-committees and phases of the national AI strategy.
Are the UAE already living in the future?
The ministry of artificial intelligence in UAE provides top-level direction, the Artificial Intelligence Office coordinates and communicates, and emirate-level structures (e.g., DUB.AI, AIATC) institutionalize execution. The combination allows policy to cascade into appointments, platforms, ethics toolkits, and inter-agency councils, reducing fragmentation and clarifying ownership across the public sector.
The result is a framework that pairs ambition (Strategy 2031) with mechanisms that are specific enough to measure and scale.
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تصفح وكلاء الذكاء الاصطناعي الآخرين لدينا لأتمتة العمليات بشكل وكيل
