CNN
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The world's first minister dedicated to developing an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is already finding himself embroiled in a global power struggle over the technology. hegemony.
In April, Microsoft (MSFT) announced it would invest $1.5 billion in G42, an AI group based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and chaired by a member of the royal family.
Analysts said the deal was motivated by the Biden administration's desire to limit Beijing's influence in the region as the United States struggles to maintain its edge over China in the AI race, and the deal brings the company firmly into the U.S. sphere of influence.
“I think the UAE and the US are really aligned on how to advance these technologies,” the UAE's AI minister said. Omar Al Olama, who was appointed in 2017, “I think we're going to see a lot more collaboration going forward,” he told CNN in a recent video interview.
G42, a holding company made up of seven companies operating in data centers, energy, healthcare, surveillance and biotechnology, is controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who also serves as the UAE's national security adviser.
The UAE is one of the world's largest producers of fossil fuels, and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi sees AI as essential to moving away from oil, which could contribute $96 billion to the UAE. According to a report by PwC Middle East, China's economy is expected to grow to about 14% of its gross domestic product by 2030.
“We want to ensure we are at the cutting edge of technology, which is why we work with partners at the forefront and follow the rules set by market leaders,” Oramah said.
Olama, who is minister of digital economy and remote working applications, among other things, wants the UAE to be a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2031.
08:57 – Source: CNN
The UAE aims to become an AI superpower
The UAE has laid out a national strategy to get there. Its goals include introducing AI to priority sectors like energy and logistics, developing an ecosystem and attracting talent. The country is training civil servants in AI, and Dubai aims to teach one million citizens effective rapid engineering and train AI models to produce high-quality outcomes.
As of September, there were 120,000 people working in AI and related industries in the Gulf, up from 30,000 two years ago, Al Olama said.
Sometimes, the country It had to prioritize its relations with the United States over Washington's rivals.
A congressional committee in January asked the Commerce Department to investigate G42's ties to Chinese military and intelligence companies (which G42 has denied), and its investment in Microsoft has also forced the company to cut ties with Chinese hardware suppliers. In a move that favors US companies, Huawei is reportedly also included.
“The U.S. is not hesitant to say, 'We need to pick a side, especially when it comes to this technology,'” Oramah said.
The UAE has historically had a balanced foreign policy, cooperating with the United States on a range of issues, including defense, and in recent years, the U.S. has sold tens of billions of dollars' worth of military equipment to the Gulf state.
The Biden administration believes maintaining its AI advantage is critical to future economic success and national security, and has implemented a series of measures, including export controls on AI and semiconductor technology, to slow China's advance in the industry.
Christopher Pike/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Etihad Towers are surrounded by residential and commercial buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on October 3, 2023.
According to Reuters, Washington is also restricting the sale of advanced US-made chips to stop China from using the Middle Eastern country as a back door to access the latest AI technology.
Nvidia, the world's third-largest company after Microsoft and Apple, said in an August 2023 regulatory filing that the U.S. government had told the company that some of its chipmakers The products will face additional licensing requirements for “certain customers, including some countries in the Middle East and other territories.”
Some U.S. politicians worry that not enough details are known about the G42-Microsoft deal and that U.S. technology could become a target for Chinese espionage in the UAE, which also has ties to Beijing and where China is a key trading partner.
Orama argues that the UAE is a trusted partner. “There is a lot of cutting-edge American technology in the UAE, so I don’t see any particular risk,” he said, adding that he was speaking in his personal, not government, capacity.
In late 2023, the Abu Dhabi government-backed Technology and Innovation Institute launched Falcon10B, a large-scale language model (LLM) that serves as the foundational technology for generative AI chatbots.
In some metrics, it outperforms Google and Meta products.
“The UAE has entered the AI race with Falcon,” James Lewis, a technology researcher at the Washington DC-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told CNN.
In October 2023, Abu Dhabi's Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Silicon Valley-based Celebrus Systems, and G42 subsidiary Inception joined forces to develop “Jais,” a generative AI model trained in Arabic and English. The developers said the model could pave the way for law master's programs in other languages that are “underrepresented in mainstream AI.”
Unlike ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, Falcon and Jais are open source, meaning anyone can use or modify their code. By opening up its technology, Abu Dhabi hopes to position itself as an ally to developing countries that don't have the resources to build their own AI tools.
Gifty Sahany/CNN
The generative AI model, “Jais,” trained in Arabic and English, was developed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Silicon Valley-based Celebrus Systems, and G42 subsidiary Inception.
“We know that not every country can develop these systems and tools,” Oramah said, “so we want to be able to develop them for them.”
Some analysts say the UAE's vast oil wealth could be key to developing the country's hugely expensive AI infrastructure.
“To me, this is a financial story,” Lewis said. “This gives them an advantage in terms of being one of the major technology powers in the future.”
Amid growing concern about the potential risks of AI, Oramah has called for the formation of a global coalition to regulate the development and use of AI technology.
The risks are high: A report commissioned by the US State Department in March warned that the most advanced AI systems “could pose an extinction-level threat to humanity” in worst-case scenarios.
Orama has a specific Concerns: They predict that deepfakes could cause a “fundamental crisis of truth” and spark a “political crisis.” They also worry that AI could make it easier to create biotech weapons.
“I try not to stoke fear,” he said, “but there are very few guardrails to prevent something like this from happening.”
