His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy, yesterday witnessed the launch of the first edition of the Dubai Artificial Intelligence and Web3 Festival, organised by the Dubai Artificial Intelligence Campus, in strategic partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, with the attendance of more than 6,800 business leaders. The festival’s activities continue today.
On the sidelines of the launch of the first edition of the festival, His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai inspected a number of pavilions participating in the festival, where His Highness was briefed on the experiences of more than 100 exhibitors showcasing their emerging technologies, praising the volume and quality of participation in the first edition of the leading event in the region.
Organizing the global event in Dubai reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and his directives to consolidate Dubai’s position as a global capital of the digital economy, confirm its leadership in the region’s technology scene, and its position as a pivotal center for technology and innovation, and to reach global leadership as a major partner in finding and adopting innovative solutions that harness technology to support comprehensive and sustainable development efforts in various sectors.
The event also highlights Dubai’s ongoing efforts to employ the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, most notably artificial intelligence, to drive economic development efforts in the UAE, and to benefit from these capabilities in achieving the great ambitions and goals that Dubai has set for its economy during the next phase.
His Highness was accompanied by Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre, and Arif Amiri, CEO of Dubai International Financial Centre Authority.
“AI technologies are beginning to radically reshape societies and drive future economies forward, driving further progress and improving quality of life,” said Issa Kazim, stressing that the transformative power of AI is evident across a wide range of economic sectors and applications, including healthcare, education, manufacturing, transportation, financial services, and other vital sectors.
“Dubai’s relentless culture of innovation is a key factor in making the city a global hub for technology companies. Over the past 20 years, DIFC has played a pivotal role in driving this innovation and shaping the economy, as we seek to establish Dubai as the global capital of the digital economy,” he added.
He explained that the Dubai Artificial Intelligence and Web3 Festival will become one of the largest global events in this field, as it will attract more than 30,000 participants annually by 2027.
He also announced the launch of the unique “Challenge X” platform, which aims to advance the capabilities of artificial intelligence globally. It will serve as a digital community for data scientists and machine learning experts, host competitions, and provide a space for individuals to showcase their skills and collaborate with other experts in the field. Moreover, users can test their abilities in front of a global audience, with prizes awarded to the best performers among them.
The first day of the festival focused on the theme of “Enabling Digital Economies.” It discussed several topics including communication technologies, scalability and storage, innovation and investments, and security and privacy.
The artificial intelligence sector has witnessed significant growth in the region, as a recent report issued by PWC predicted that the value of the benefits achieved by artificial intelligence technologies in the Middle East region will reach 320 billion US dollars by 2030.
The report also expected that the UAE would be the largest beneficiary of these technologies, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The list of prominent speakers at the festival includes HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Founder and CEO of Saudi-based KBW Ventures; Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Faisal Belhoul, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber and Chairman of J&F Holding; Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation; Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing in the UAE; Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digital Transformation of Ghana; Savanna Mazia, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Kingdom of Eswatini; and Younis Al Nasser, CEO of Dubai Data and Statistics Corporation and Assistant Director General of Dubai Digital Authority.
The festival was also attended by several industry leaders, including Adel Ahmed Al Redha, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline, Caroline Yap, Global Managing Director, AI Business and Applied Engineering, Google Cloud, and Maja Pantic, Research Director, Generative AI, Meta, UK.
• 6,800 business leaders participate in the region’s leading event.
• Global reports expect the value of the benefits achieved by artificial intelligence technologies in the Middle East region to reach $320 billion by 2030, and the UAE is at the forefront of beneficiaries.
• Unveiling the global “Challenge X” platform to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.
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