The UAE is harnessing AI and Generative AI to revolutionise healthcare, education and life sciences. From genomic breakthroughs to AI-powered platforms, the nation is positioning itself as a global leader in precision medicine, Digital Transformation and innovation-driven growth.
With a strong ecosystem in place, the coming years should see the UAE embedding advanced technologies in government and business procedures to propel economic growth. The country benefits from advanced digital infrastructure, with the UAE having achieved high rankings in multiple global digital readiness indices.
Governments across the GCC have traditionally been the primary funding bodies for economic development programmes, but a region-wide focus on reducing government spending and attracting private investment has taken centre stage. Federal and emirate-level authorities are implementing advanced digital government services to make business procedures and transactions more efficient. Regulatory frameworks covering advanced technology have been enacted and updated.
The UAE’s Digital Government Strategy 2025 aims to accelerate the implementation of digital government services across the country’s seven emirates. The strategy was formulated partly in response to gaps and inefficiencies highlighted in the government’s service provision by the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It features a strong focus on digital inclusion and increasing the resilience and adaptability of society in times of crisis through the digitisation of vital services.
The outlook appears largely positive for the UAE’s ICT sector. The level of digitisation achieved in relation to government services is enabling significant time and cost savings, and the subsequent increased efficiency of business procedures is helping the UAE make progress towards economic diversification targets.
Keeping AI centre stage
A significant game-changer in the global economy, GenAI is expected to generate economic value worth US$4.4 trillion annually. In the UAE, AI adoption is estimated to contribute to nearly 14% of the country’s GDP by 2030.
With the country prioritising AI as a key driver of its future growth, it is poised to benefit from the immense potential of the GenAI Academy’s high-quality education and training programmes as it positions itself as a global player in AI by 2031.
The integration of Artificial Intelligence is of importance to the UAE through skills development and global partnerships. Coursera, an online learning platform, announced the launch of the GenAI Academy in the UAE, designed to equip executives and their employees with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven workplace.
GenAI Academy offers a unique blend of foundational literacy and executive education programmes from top research universities and companies at the forefront of AI, including Microsoft, Stanford Online, Vanderbilt University, DeepLearning.AI, Fractal Analytics, Google Cloud, and AWS.
In 2023, Coursera witnessed a surge in interest in Generative AI content globally, with 570,500 learners enrolling on the platform to benefit from the 35+ courses or projects on GenAI developed in collaboration with university and industry partners.
The integration of AI into the UAE’s government and public sector and large enterprises is of great importance. The UAE’s Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications office and Emirates Global Aluminium have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the industrial sector.
Leading Edge IT platforms
Homegrown AI start-up, AIREV, will leverage Core42’s supercomputing capabilities and Jais, the world’s largest Arabic language open-source Large Language Model, LLM to enhance its platforms.
Core42, a G42 company and a full-spectrum AI enablement solutions provider, has signed a strategic partnership with AIREV, the innovative UAE start-up behind School Hack, an AI-powered EdTech platform that helps students develop the skills for the jobs of tomorrow.
Core42 and AIREV’s collaboration encapsulates the UAE’s ambitious AI strategy to establish the nation as a pioneering AI hub by 2031, aligning with the vision to integrate AI across key sectors, enhancing economic performance and preparing a future-ready workforce.
Launched in February 2023, School Hack has amassed over two million users in more than 100 countries, with 145,000 student users in the UAE alone. Since its launch, School Hack has answered 63 million queries using over 35 billion AI-generated words.
Core42’s product offerings, including its Condor Galaxy AI supercomputer, cloud platform, and Jais, the world’s largest Arabic language open-source LLM, have already proven their versatility and unique advantages in supporting the development of new AI tools and applications. This partnership will help enhance AIREV’s platforms’ Arabic language capabilities as well as scale up its operations, facilitating the expansion of its user base and expediting the delivery of new features.
In another example, M42 is committed to reshaping the sustainable future of health with technology as a key enabler, and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard will work with Microsoft and the International Center for Genetic Disease. The group will leverage the Terra platform to explore scenarios for precision health discovery and delivery, collaborating with healthcare organisations across the global ecosystem.
Terra, which will be deployed on the UAE cloud with sovereign capabilities powered by Microsoft Azure, will be used not only as a Trusted Research Environment but also as the foundation for M42’s Global Life Sciences Platform.
M42’s Global Life Sciences Platform will leverage existing Microsoft Azure Health Data Services, generative AI-based data models, host advanced tools including M42’s generative AI model, Med42, and drive interoperability and advanced analytics for both research and clinical care. It will allow multi-party users to access data, deploy analytical tools, and derive insights in a safe and secure environment for clinical research and drug discovery.
M42, the facilitator of the Emirati Genome Programme, has completed more than 500,000 whole genome sequences to date. This represents one of the largest population genomic initiatives globally and utilises the latest whole genome sequencing and AI technologies at scale for clinical genomic research, precision medicine and disease prevention.