Dubai is to issue commercial licences to help companies operating in artificial intelligence and Web3 to set up businesses, as the UAE aims to boost the sectors and attract more investment.
The licences, issued by the AI and Web 3.0 Campus through the Dubai International Financial Centre, will be 90 per cent subsidised and will support activities to aid the emirate's push to become a digital society, the DIFC said on Monday.
These activities will include distributed ledger technology services, specialised AI research and consultancies, IT infrastructure builders, technology research and development, and public networking services.
"We are confident that by granting these licences, we will attract more global talent and investment to the region, and create a culture of collaboration and innovation," said Mohammad Alblooshi, chief executive of the DIFC Innovation Hub.
The campus was launched in June and aims to be the largest cluster of AI and Web3 companies in the Middle East and North Africa region.
It has set a goal of attracting more than 500 high-tech companies by 2028, bringing in $300 million in funds and creating more than 3,000 jobs in the next five years.
"This is a notable milestone for the Dubai AI and Web3 Campus and will strengthen Dubai’s position as the business destination of choice for technology-focused companies and attract more world class talent and diversified investors to the region," Mr Alblooshi said.
AI has long been used by businesses and in society, but has gained traction as the digital economy rapidly grows and countries continue to encourage its use.
Among its most notable applications are for virtual assistants, online shopping, search engines, data analysis, speech and face recognition systems, machine translations, and smart homes.
It has been made more popular by the rise of generative AI, which was brought into the mainstream by ChatGPT, the Microsoft-backed platform from OpenAI that can produce various kinds of data, including audio, code, text and videos.
For businesses, in particular, generative AI’s effect on productivity could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually, according to a recent study from McKinsey. Fellow consultancy PwC projects AI to contribute about $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
AI is also tipped to help create about 200,000 jobs in the Middle East by 2025, a report from McKinsey showed.
Web3, meanwhile, is the new concept of the World Wide Web, with core components including blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility.
The technology is projected to contribute about $15 billion to GCC economies annually by 2030, led by Saudi Arabia, a study from PwC unit Strategy& had shown.
The Dubai AI and Web 3.0 Campus provides state-of-the-art physical and digital infrastructure within the DIFC Innovation One premises, which includes R&D facilities, accelerator programmes and collaborative workspaces.
"The campus will foster a world-class nurturing environment that enables business growth and development," Mr Alblooshi said.
Dubai has also launched several initiatives to support its plans to boost AI's growth.
In June, the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence was launched, with the site to train 1,000 employees from more than 30 government bodies on the uses of generative AI.
In July, it was announced that the emirate will host the Dubai Assembly for Generative AI in October, an event that aims to shape the future of AI and introduce governments and societies to the opportunities it provides.
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Tour de France 2017: Stage 5
Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160.5km
It is a shorter stage, but one that will lead to a brutal uphill finish. This is the third visit in six editions since it was introduced to the race in 2012. Reigning champion Chris Froome won that race.
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Guide to intelligent investing
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
