The Dubai Metaverse Strategy was launched with the goal of making Dubai one of the top ten metaverse economies and a global hub for the metaverse community. His Majesty Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed emphasised the importance of consolidating Dubai's status as a hub offering the most advanced metaverse ecosystem and as a global leader in adopting digital solutions, which reflects His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's ambitious vision of transforming the emirate into a global capital of advanced technologies, primarily artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3. The strategy aims to build on Dubai's success in attracting over 1,000 blockchain and metaverse companies. It also promotes Dubai's goal of supporting over 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030. This would further boost Dubai's economy and support the UAE government's goal of tripling the current number of blockchain companies.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region has announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and coding license, in cooperation with the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office. The license, which is a UAE first, will advance the country's Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, which aims to enhance the UAE's reputation in this field by attracting AI companies and coders from around the world. Companies holding the license will be able to work within a stimulating environment at the DIFC Innovation Hub, which is the largest cluster of FinTech and innovation companies in the region. In addition, the license provides an opportunity to obtain UAE Golden Visas for employees working in those companies. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said, "Such initiatives reflect positively on the country's readiness to become a global destination for pioneering the industries of the future by adopting advanced technology and stimulating innovation in various fields. The UAE Government is keen to support digital transformation processes that embody of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This is being achieved by developing digital activities and providing innovative solutions that contribute to improving the performance of governments and the lives of communities. DIFC has opened new horizons for leading global companies that aspire to enhance their efforts in the field of AI and expand their businesses further."

Large, black drones with the orange logo of EDGE, the UAE's arms consortium, were on display at this week's Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), along with remote-controlled machineguns and other "smart" weapons. The exhibition comes at a time of growing unmanned attacks around the region, including the January 17 drone-and-missile assault by Yemen rebels that killed three oil workers in Abu Dhabi, the first in a series of similar incidents. "Autonomous systems are becoming ever more prevalent around the world," Miles Chambers, EDGE's director of international business development, told AFP. "We are really heavily investing in developing our autonomous capability... as well as in electronic warfare and in our smart munitions. These are our three pillars." EDGE, an Abu Dhabi-based defence consortium that groups 25 Emirati firms, was formed three years ago but reached an estimated $4.8 billion in arms sales in 2020 -- nearly all of them to the UAE government.

At the forefront of this movement (and as far back as 2017), the UAE government released a first-of-its-kind strategy setting a clear roadmap for developing its regional capabilities and becoming the world's premier AI destination. The UAE Strategy For Artificial Intelligence has set out its priority sectors, which include: resources and energy, logistics and transport, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, and cybersecurity. However, the sheer depth of data available means that AI and machine learning can potentially leverage insights from real-world usage to create smart medical devices, such as diagnostic imaging systems and sensors that can detect conditions such as heart disease and lung cancer. For example, researchers at a UK hospital have developed an AI system that can diagnose heart scans with greater accuracy than human cardiologists, who typically misdiagnose one in five cases. AI is a perfect match for some of cybersecurity's most complex issues, and due to its ability to analyse traffic and patterns, it can detect potential threats and take preventative action more effectively than software-based solutions.

There's no question that the world around us is getting smarter. In recent years, the exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has created an increasing demand for AI solutions across a broad range of industries. Accelerated in part by the global pandemic, businesses and governments around the world are recognising the benefits of becoming early adopters of AI as part of ongoing digital transformation. A regional hub for AI entrepreneurs At the forefront of this movement (and as far back as 2017), the UAE government released a first-of-its-kind strategy setting a clear roadmap for developing its regional capabilities and becoming the world's premier AI destination. And it's looking to become a game-changer, with the region as a whole estimated to accrue 2 per cent of the global benefits of AI – $320bn by 2030.

Iran-backed Yemeni fighters launched drone strikes on the United Arab Emirates that caused explosions and a deadly fire outside the capital, Abu Dhabi, ratcheting up security risks in the major oil-exporting region at a critical time. One of the biggest attacks to date on UAE soil ignited a fire at Abu Dhabi's main international airport on Monday and set fuel tanker trucks ablaze in a nearby industrial area. It took place days after Yemen's Houthi fighters warned Abu Dhabi against intensifying its air campaign against them. Crude extended gains to the highest level in seven years on Tuesday after the assaults in the UAE, OPEC's third biggest oil producer. Iran's longtime support of the Houthis means the incidents could roil regional diplomatic efforts to ease frictions and separate talks to restore Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Abu Dhabi is to launch a dedicated artificial intelligence research centre to help cement the UAE's growing status as a global centre for technological innovation. The state-of-the-art complex will be central to the work of the capital's Technology Innovation Institute, which already is home to the Middle East's first quantum computer and to teams of researchers developing advanced materials, drones and robots for commercial use. The centre aims to bridge the gap between the research centre's seven labs and the spreading field of AI, providing oversight and technical know-how. Take, for example, an autonomous boat under development at TII's robotics lab, which is being designed to self-navigate to the site of an oil spill, send out dozens of robotic "fish" to assess the damage to marine life, all while sending information to drones hovering above to determine a course for clean-up. This scenario relies heavily on AI capabilities and is one of dozens of commercial projects being developed at TII's Masdar City campus.

Dana Abu Ali is a software engineer at MEA Clients Center at IBM Dubai.

He said the technology will be rolled out in the coming months across all Metro stations in the emirate. Dubai Police's smart glasses called Rokid T1, and the smart helmets that were used during the COVID-19 pandemic to scan commuters' temperatures, will have more advanced technology in the future like facial recognition to identify wanted people. "Usually, it takes at least five hours to identify a suspect, but with facial recognition technology, it takes less than a minute."

More than 1,000 students are vying for places at the world's first dedicated artificial intelligence university in Abu Dhabi. The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence will swing open its doors in August, with demand high from those eager to be part of the inaugural class of 2020. The graduate-level institute revealed the bumper number of applicants are currently being put through a stringent vetting process ahead of the landmark opening term. Masters and PhD courses will be held at the forward-thinking seat of learning, which has cast the net far and wide across the globe in search of top talent. World's first artificial intelligence university to open in Abu Dhabi Artificial intelligence isn't coming to the UAE - it is already here During the university's first advisory board meeting, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, said the first wave of students would be at the forefront of a new era of innovation in the country.