The UAE government is leading the way in establishing the necessary integrated and secure data ecosystem to expedite the implementation of future technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, which use data from many disparate sources to produce unprecedented services that will transform all aspects of people's wellness and everyday life. AI and machine learning offers hope in reducing the risk and impact of cyber-attacks on patient data, but also opens doors to potential wrong doers – "The Bad Guys" – by its very nature. Security threats are, and always have been, major concerns to healthcare organizations due to the value and vulnerability of the clinical data that is being recorded and distributed. The value of the data comes from the fact that it directly affects our ability to safely treat patients. Due to its content and historical nature it can be very big, so it takes a long time to rebuild, and it contains more than just clinical data.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is transforming its business through digital projects that range from deciding where to drill for oil and gas, to helping the company decide where to sell its final products. The state-owned oil company has driven the United Arab Emirates' economy since it was founded almost half a century ago, and its head of digital, Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi, has been driving digital transformation since 2017. Each day, ADNOC produces three million barrels of oil and processes billions of cubic feet of gas. It has businesses involved in the extraction of raw materials upstream as well as the processing of materials to add value downstream. Add to this the transportation, sales and marketing of oil and gas, and you have a large, complex organisation.

An international competition in artificial intelligence and robotics is set to take place in Dubai this week. The First Global Challenge aims to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in students across the UAE. The four-day event begins on October 24 at the Dubai Festival Arena and more than 1,500 young people are expected to attend. The theme of this year's contest is'Ocean Opportunities', with students competing to tackle issues from pollution to sustainability. "This event comes amidst repeated international calls to strengthen cooperation to find effective solutions to the issue of marine pollution by working on the adaptation of the latest technology," said Ahmed Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills.

Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) has launched the'Artificial Intelligence Lab,' a new initiative which will provide a dedicated platform to develop innovative digital solutions using AI and machine learning. According to ADDA, the AI Lab will apply these solutions to improve the efficiency in services and contribute to excellence in government performance. The AI lab, which was announced at the recently concluded'GITEX Technology Week', forms part of ADDA's strategy to employ cutting-edge technology applications in developing innovative digital solutions for various government services in partnership with Abu Dhabi government entities. The lab offers high-performance computing abilities and has been made available for all Abu Dhabi government entities as a service, where users can access the platform and have the opportunity to know more about machine learning techniques, develop simulation and predictive models with their data sets, engage with AI experts, and experiment with Data Sets for Data Visualisation. ADDA has trained more than 70 Abu Dhabi government employees on AI technologies and has already adopted plans to train 120 employees more over the next two months.

The UAE is an early adopter of advanced technology, and artificial intelligence is no exception. Along with Genomic Medicine and Biometrics, the UAE is pioneering AI use within and alongside other advanced technologies, stemming from the government's work in activating their strategy for Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). We are seeing exciting developments in augmented learning, personalised medicine, economic security (such as blockchain technology), smart cities, government e-services, 3D printing, and even space exploration. It's no secret that Dubai is earmarked to be a leading smart city, with investment into numerous technologies to set it on that course, and a stated aim by the UAE Government to make it a leading global hub and an open lab for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The speed at which it is being implemented is almost unparalleled, and the opportunities that sit alongside that are vast.

Dubai: Artificial Intelligence-powered services, such as customer call management system and drone-based statistician, will be showcased at Smart Dubai's pavilion of 59 government and private establishments at the GITEX Technology Week 2018, which begins on Sunday. Running till Thursday at Dubai World Trade Centre, GITEX will feature the establishments exhibiting their latest smart services to the public. Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai Office, said: "Since its inception, Smart Dubai has been on a mission to implement the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a full-fledged smart city and make it one of the happiest in the world. His Highness has also called on all stakeholders across the public and private sectors to work together and strive towards that ambitious objective. We at Smart Dubai have forged numerous partnerships as we progress towards our goals, and are delighted that these partners – be they government entities, private organisations, or start-ups – are joining us [at GITEX] to showcase their advanced smart services created for the people and the community."

Dubai: The UAE and India on Saturday signed an agreement to spur discussion and explore options for both countries to grow their artificial intelligence economies. The UAE Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Invest India signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the India-UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge. The partnership will generate an estimated $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) in economic benefits during the next decade. The UAE-India collaboration will seek to evaluate the dynamic nature of innovation and technology by convening a UAE-India AI Working Committee (TWG) between the UAE Ministry for Artificial Intelligence, Invest India and Startup India. The TWG will meet once a year with the mandate to increase investment in AI start-ups and research activities in partnership with the private sector.

Invest India and the UAE Minister for Artificial Intelligence (AI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for India – UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge in New Delhi. This partnership will generate an estimated USD 20 billion in economic benefits during the next decade for both countries. The MoU will spur development across areas like Blockchain, AI and Analytics as data and processing will be a catalyst for innovation and business growth and serve as the backbone of more effective and efficient service delivery systems. By 2035 AI can potentially add USD 957 billion to the Indian economy. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and H.E. Ahmad Sultan Al Falahi, Minister Plenipotentiary – Commercial Attache, UAE Embassy at the India leg of GovHack series of World Government Summit.

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) has launched the country's first bachelors degree in artificial intelligence to support the UAE's 2031 AI strategy. BUiD, the research-based university, said the degree has been developed in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and is open to both Emiratis and expatriates. It told media at a press conference attended by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, that the four-year degree course will start at the end of September, and tuition fees will total AED230,000. The course follows the announcement last year by the UAE of the appointment of the world's first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence which followed the unveiling of the UAE 2031 AI strategy, which aims to make the government more efficient and streamlined by developing AI technologies. In May, Al Olama said the UAE government is expected to save $3 billion per year, thanks to AI and blockchain. The technologies are two of the most powerful tools revolutionizing the UAE's pace of innovation, he said at the Future Blockchain Summit.

Dubai: Thousands of CCTV cameras of various Dubai government agencies will now provide live feed to a central command centre, officials said. Under a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) network, security cameras across will relay live images of security breaches live to the central command centre, Dubai Police said. The cameras will monitor criminal behaviour in three sectors -- tourism, traffic and bricks and mortar facilities. The network, said the police, is being phased in via different stages to meet the Dubai 2021 Vision requirements of a smart city. Announcing the programme, Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said the new project called'Oyoon' (eyes) will tackle crimes in the city and help reduce traffic accident deaths and congestion. Earlier, different agencies managed their command centres to receive live feed from the CCTV cameras.