The UAE has appointed Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, aged 27, as the country's first minister of State for Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of a cabinet reshuffle. Earlier, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, announced the UAE Strategy for artificial intelligence, a major part of the UAE Centennial 2070 objectives. The AI initiative aims to improve government performance and create an innovative and highly-productive environment by means of investing in AI. "We initiated electronic services 16 years go and today we are launching a fresh stage relying on Artificial Intelligence," Sheikh Mohammed said. "We are seeking to adopt tools and methodologies related to artificial intelligence to expedite and ensure more efficiency for government services at all levels." In the last significant structural change, Sheikh Mohammed announced in February last year that the UAE will outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries.

The UAE recently made a bold move that is perhaps the strongest demonstration of any government's official endorsement of Artificial Intelligence technology. An Artificial Intelligence minister has been appointed, implying enough reliance and expectations of reliance on the technology to warrant the position. The official title will be State Minister for Artificial Intelligence, and the activities of the position will coincide with UAE's 2031 AI Strategy, a comprehensive government effort that will integrate all AI technologies in the society. The young appointee is 27-year-old Omar Sultan Al-Ulama, who brings his experience as Deputy Director of the Future Department and now Managing Director of the World Government Summit to the position. The announcement came on Thursday from UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed, part of a general restructuring of the Cabinet: "We announce the appointment of a minister for artificial intelligence. The next global wave is artificial intelligence and we want the UAE to be more prepared for it."

The UAE has just appointed Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama as the country's first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Arabian Business reported.The new minister, who is just 27 years old, was appointed a part of the UAE's mission to be at the forefront of the global technological revolution that, among other things, plans to build homes in Mars by 2117. The decision by the Gulf state comes just days after announcing the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI), a major part of the UAE Centennial 2070 objectives, which set off to improve government performance through investing in AI.The Gulf nation estimates that by 2030, AI will have a global market value of $15.7 trillion, boosting the UAE's GDP by 35 percent and reducing government costs by 50 percent. Sheikh Mohammed said: "The new Government is a Government for the new Emirati percentage. Sheikh Mohammed announced in February last year that the UAE planned to outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries, forming a single education ministry, abolishing the ministry of higher education, and fusing several other state bodies into related ministries. The decision also comes shortly after Dubai established its own cryptocurrency, called emCash.

The UAE on Thursday appointed Omar Bin Sultan as the country's first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence as part of a cabinet reshuffle. Aged just 27, Sultan's appointment is part of the UAE's ambition to be at the forefront of the global technological revolution which sees it planning to be build homes on the planet Mars by 2117. The position was announced in a tweet by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice President and ruler of Dubai who said: "The new Government is a Government for the new Emirati percentage. The move comes just days after Sheikh Mohammed announced the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI), a major part of the UAE Centennial 2070 objectives. The initiative aims to improve government performance and create an innovative and highly-productive environment by means of investing in AI. Other new positions created in the reshuffle include a Minister for Advanced Sciences and another for Food Security, according to a series of tweets, written in Arabic. Sheikh Mohammed said: "The new Government is a Government for the new Emirati percentage.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Already home to the world's biggest skyscraper, Dubai has another tall order to fill: By 2030, its leader wants 25 percent of all trips on its roads to be done by driverless vehicles. Monday's announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum came without warning and with few details, as is sometimes the case with the many aspirations of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates. In this car-crazed city-state of over 1.5 million registered vehicles, it's not unusual to see Ferraris idling alongside Lamborghinis at traffic lights. And Dubai already is home to a driverless Metro rail system, which carried 178 million riders in 2015. Smart-car technology is being used in some of the world's luxury vehicles, and it is advancing rapidly enough for the plan to become a reality -- or a nightmare for the thousands of taxi drivers who now plying the streets among the sleek skyscrapers in the UAE's commercial capital.