The world's first minister for artificial intelligence says the United Arab Emirates isn't only looking for economic benefits as it seeks to become a leading nation in the sector. The UAE's minister of state for AI, Omar bin Sultan al-Olama, said "quality of life" considerations were key, and also stressed the importance of a "responsible" rollout -- with impacts potentially reverberating for decades. "We are looking at AI as a tool," he told AFP in an interview in Dubai. "It's a tool that we need to use to unleash the quality of life aspect." The UAE also calls AI "machine intelligence", defining it as a branch of technology enabling systems to "think, learn, and make decisions like humans", which can support everything from virology to transport.

The world's first minister for artificial intelligence says the United Arab Emirates isn't only looking for economic benefits as it seeks to become a leading nation in the sector. The UAE's minister of state for AI, Omar bin Sultan al-Olama, said "quality of life" considerations were key, and also stressed the importance of a "responsible" rollout--with impacts potentially reverberating for decades. "We are looking at AI as a tool," he told AFP in an interview in Dubai. "It's a tool that we need to use to unleash the quality of life aspect." The UAE also calls AI "machine intelligence", defining it as a branch of technology enabling systems to "think, learn, and make decisions like humans", which can support everything from virology to transport.

The adoption of AI in the healthcare industry is also gaining momentum in Gulf countries. For instance, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across the region has prompted two UAE-based health companies to launch the "world's first" AI-powered rapid Covid-19 antigen test. Simply by connecting the nasal swabs to a smartphone, a special application can be activated to scan for signs of nucleocapsid protein from SARS-COV-2. And the result is in less than ten minutes. Another application of AI in healthcare can be found in the provision of advice on emotional and mental health issues.