In no country is artificial intelligence having a more personal impact on chief executives than in the United Arab Emirates, a report has found.
Dataiku, a data science and AI platform company, commissioned the Harris Poll to survey 900 CEOs in the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore about how they feel about AI and the pressures they feel to implement it within their companies.
For more details on the results, Confessions of global AI report, Chief executives in the UAE have indicated they are concerned about the potential impact of failing to leverage AI within their businesses.
“23% of CEOs in the UAE say AI is putting their company’s long-term legacy at risk, more than double the global average of 10% and the highest percentage of any region,” the report said.
Kurt Muehmel, head of AI strategy at Dataiku, said many CEOs feel pressure to demonstrate that AI increases efficiency, improves productivity, and is worth the investment.
“Expectations from corporate boards are high and there is a sense that CEOs cannot be the only ones worrying about how things are going,” Meumel said. The study aims to go beyond superficial statements and sentiments about AI, he added.
“I heard that there were concerns, [success] The talk about AI was really refreshing. ”
Mumel said the UAE survey results showed a control gap between what CEOs feel responsible for AI implementation and what they can control.
According to the study, around one in five CEOs in the UAE said their company’s chief data officer “has the most influence over AI strategy, more than three times the global average of 6%, and has the highest share of any market surveyed.”
Mumel said the UAE’s focus on AI over the past decade likely influenced the pressure it felt. “They are operating in a context where AI is at the top of the policy and economic agenda,” he said.
The UAE has been working on integrating AI in various parts of life. The country recently secured the top spot in the AI adoption rankings in Microsoft’s annual AI Economy Report.
The introduction of AI has led to significant interest and investment in the UAE from various US-based technology companies.
Dataiku commissioned a similar study last year, pointing to an evolution in modern analytics thinking.
“In 2025, CEOs feared falling behind in AI,” the company’s profile says. “In 2026, they fear something even more dangerous: being held accountable.”
Meumel said AI doesn’t just mean innovation or high hopes, but a demand for performance.
“It’s not just powerful men and women in nice suits,” he said, referring to the executives who decide how AI is deployed. “It’s the people who are really concerned about what it means for them.”
In the United Arab Emirates, Datik said the survey results show that AI ambitions are not plateauing anytime soon, but with a slight twist.
“Although ambition remains high, upside confidence is low and awareness of downside risk has increased significantly,” Datik’s report said.
