Emirati minister Omar Al Olama has been named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence in a new Time magazine list, joining the likes of billionaire business magnate Elon Musk and Chat GPT creator Sam Altman.
Mr Al Olama has been at the forefront of the UAE's drive to unlock the potential of the advanced technology since being appointed the world's first AI minister in 2017.
The inaugural Time100 AI list shines a light on leaders, innovators, shapers and thinkers who are playing a crucial role in harnessing the cutting-edge tool.
Mr Al Olama, 33, who serves as Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, is included in the 'shaper' category.
In an interview with Time to mark his inclusion, the enterprising minister told how the Emirates was in a prime position to effect change in the sector on a global level.
"We understand that we are in a unique position," said Mr Al Olama.
"We are a medium-sized country; we have invested in AI for a few years now. So we were a bit far ahead of many other countries that are in this domain.
"We cannot compete with China and the US; I don’t think we ever will want to compete. Our job is to be first an enabler and to leverage our strength to support all the players when it comes to AI.
"So when our policymaking and our government is very agile and can move very quickly, we want to ensure that anyone who wants to deploy AI in a way where we can do it in a regulatory environment, the UAE comes first in mind and we’re able to then export whatever findings we have to the rest of the world.
"So in that sense, we complement the big players when it comes to this technology."
Mr Olama reflected on the pivotal role that artificial intelligence is set to play in society for years to come, stressing its importance requires ministries to be created to govern its use.
"AI technology is so profound that we can actually look back in history to understand why we need to create a ministry for it," he told Time.
"When humanity used to depend on coal and wood fire for energy, there was no ministry of energy. When it became paramount to actually ensure energy production and energy distribution, what happened is that every single government in the world appointed a Minister for energy.
"The same happened with telecommunications. I do believe that AI is at the same level."
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the minister's achievements in a message on social media.
He told of his pride in "every Emirati who has an achievement that raises the name of his country in front of the world with his excellence, work and contributions".
UAE leads the way on AI
The UAE's commitment to the field was further demonstrated when it established the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in 2019.
The first batch of students to enrol at Abu Dhabi's artificial intelligence university graduated in January.
Last month, a new Abu Dhabi-developed artificial intelligence large language model for Arabic was unveiled, aiming to bring one of the world's most widely used languages into the AI mainstream.
Jais, an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model, was developed by Inception, a unit of Abu Dhabi AI company G42, Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems.
In April, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President-designate of Cop28, said the adoption of AI will help the Emirates achieve its economic diversification goals.
“Projections show AI solutions are on course to contribute an estimated $13 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2030, optimising the industries of tomorrow and dramatically improving the lives of billions of people in the process,” Dr Al Jaber said during a visit to Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go...
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Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
