Artificial intelligence (AI) could help increase the UAE’s gross domestic product by 35 percent by 2031, according to a new report.
The Ministry of Economy said that the economic impact of the country’s investment in the technologies of the Fourth Generation of the Industrial Revolution, most notably AI, will not be restricted by cost, consumption, production and productivity, adding that the UAE aims to become the global centre of AI by 2030.
The ministry added in a report cited by news agency WAM that AI will reduce the government’s annual spending by 50 percent, through reducing the number of paper-based transactions.
The report also predicts that the UAE’s AI strategy will generate an annual economic return, in many sectors, of around AED22 billion.
It said this will be achieved by raising individual productivity by 13 percent, saving 396 million hours annually from commuting, reducing transportation costs by 44 percent, limiting carbon emissions and environmental pollution by 12 percent, limiting traffic accidents and their resulting losses by 12 percent, reducing the need for parking spaces by 20 percent by 2030.
The report also expects the UAE to benefit from the development of AI, not only in terms of improving project performance but also in terms of reducing the number of foreign workers, which will reduce the value of financial transfers sent abroad from the country’s economy.
In October, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai,announced the launch of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. The country also has a dedicated ministry to drive the development of AI.