UAE AI 'data leaders' given highest marks in global survey

A new survey gave business "data leaders" in the UAE some of the highest marks in terms of in-depth knowledge about AI tools used in businesses and organisations.

This week's report, Global AI Confessions, was conducted at the request of Dataiku, a data science and AI platform company. It consisted of interviews with 812 people in the business world in the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Singapore and South Korea, and examined governance risks, confidence and overconfidence related to AI.

"The UAE data leaders in our study demonstrate something striking, they're building AI infrastructure with stronger governance foundations than most regions, but they're also pragmatic about what AI can and can't do right now," said Kurt Muehmel, head of AI strategy at Dataiku.

According to the analysis, conducted by the US-based Harris Poll, 77 per cent of those surveyed in the UAE felt their AI workflows were "always traceable", which means that those in charge of overseeing the AI tools were able to identify what they did and how they did it.

Mr Muehmel said the survey had identified some cultural elements related to the UAE's adoption of AI.

He said when AI tools delivered good results, those surveyed in the UAE credited "the AI and data science teams — not the chief information officer, not business leaders, but the practitioners who built the systems", adding that the finding was unique to the Emirates.

Organisations in the country, he added, make it a priority to treat AI as a discipline that "requires specialised expertise and not just an IT procurement".

The analysis showed there was room for improvement, however, when it came to best practices for AI implementation.

Despite occasional concerns about various AI tools among those surveyed, "72 per cent of UAE data leaders would still trust an AI agent to make autonomous decisions in critical business workflows", the report read, concluding that the finding - not unique to the Emirates - was likely the result of a misalignment in expectations between executives and technical staffers.

“UAE organisations are leading the charge in adopting AI at scale, but the findings show that work must still be done to ensure responsible growth remains the priority,” said Sid Bhatia, Dataiku's vice president for Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

The UAE has not been shy about its plans to be an AI front-runner as it diversifies its economy away from oil.

The country’s affinity for research into the tech and AI has resulted in the establishment of start-ups, partnerships and investments from industry leaders including Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.

In 2019, the UAE announced the establishment of a university dedicated to the tech, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. Two years earlier, the Emirates was among the first countries in the world to appoint an AI minister, Omar Al Olama.

The UAE's efforts have paid off so far.

A recent study by TRG Datacenters, a Texas-based company, placed the UAE right behind the US when it comes to AI superpowers.