Artificial intelligence is becoming “more of a lifestyle” and is moving from offices to homes, the chief executive of UAE-based AI major G42 has said.
The home of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, National Security Adviser and G42 chairman, is one example of AI's influence on everyday life, Peng Xiao said during a panel discussion at the Gitex Global technology exhibition in Dubai on Tuesday.
A Japanese compound – with traditional indoor and outdoor living spaces – within the residence overlooking the sea was built in less than a year with the help of ChatGPT, he said.
“The reason why it was so fast in delivery is because the entire design was done with him personally prompting ChatGPT 500 times to design this … and I'm not kidding you, it's real,” Mr Xiao said.
“In addition to this strategically designed compound in Abu Dhabi, if you visit the office of my chairman, you won't see too many employees, because there's a 10-to-one ratio of AI agents working in his office,” he added.
However, he stressed that people remain at the centre of progress, adding that the use of AI agents is a “powerful productivity boost”.
“I think the future is here today. If your home is designed by ChatGPT, if you have more agents working for you than humans, AI has already arrived and [is an] integral part of our everyday life,” Mr Xiao said.
AI adoption is growing at a phenomenal pace globally, with countries such as the UAE fuelling its rapid ascend.
In June, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced that the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence System would become an advisory member of the Cabinet from January 2026.
The system will support decision-making, provide technical analysis and improve policy efficiency.
A month later, Sheikh Mohammed unveiled a federal strategy cycle designed to put AI at the core of government planning and service delivery.
Abu Dhabi is also committing significant funding to ensure its AI strategy's success. About Dh13 billion ($3.53 billion) is being allocated between this year and 2027 to foster innovation and drive AI adoption across government departments.
“We think every country is going to need to have an AI strategy, and it's got to be a top priority for national leadership,” Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI, told delegates on Tuesday.
“The leadership of UAE on this has been incredible to see. I hope this will serve as an example for the rest of the world about what it looks like for a forward-thinking country to really embrace AI and say: 'This is going to be an important part of our future.'”
'Wave of AI transformation'
In May, G42 teamed up with OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia to set up Stargate UAE, a one-gigawatt computing cluster that will operate in the emirate's 5GW UAE-US AI Campus. Cisco and Japan's SoftBank Group are also collaborating on the computing cluster.
Speaking at a separate panel discussion at Gitex on Tuesday, Andrew Jackson, group chief AI officer at G42, said that about 300 megawatts of compute will be up and running by next year, starting the “first wave of transformation”.
Compute relates to the resources needed for AI systems to function, including training models, processing data, and making predictions and giving answers.
“I think we're going to be getting up and running [by next year], and I think by then, we'll have already started a lot of the transformational work,” Mr Jackson said.
Meanwhile, UAE-based Khazna Data Centres, which is delivering the infrastructure layer for Stargate UAE, announced plans on Tuesday to expand operational capacity by more than 1 gigawatt over the next five years. More than 400MW of new capacity will be delivered in key international markets including Saudi Arabia and Italy, it added.
In the UAE, Khazna is developing several new projects, including hyperscale facilities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ajman.
Last month, the company said it secured a 10-year, $2.62 billion financing facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank to support its expansion plans.
"As the world enters an era defined by AI and digital economies, infrastructure is becoming the catalyst for national transformation,” said Hassan Alnaqbi, chief executive of Khazna Data Centres.
