Dubai ranks in the top five world cities in a new report on the adoption of artificial intelligence, beating San Francisco, widely considered the birthplace of the modern tech industry.
Singapore took the top spot, according to Counterpoint Research, which sought to examine the affinity and readiness for AI among 100 of the world's largest metropolitan areas.
Seoul received the study's second highest AI score, followed by Beijing, Dubai, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE is the only country from the Middle East with cities in the top 10 of the 2025 Global AI Cities Index.
"Counterpoint analysed over 5,000 initiatives in the private and public sectors, strength of communications infrastructure, data centre and supercomputing initiatives, university output and strength of the start-up ecosystem, among other factors," the report said.
Marc Einstein, a research director for Counterpoint, said Dubai "has an AI strategist in every government department".
"All teachers are now being given AI training and they have a programme to train one million AI engineers," with Abu Dhabi "not far behind", he said.
Mr Einstein said as a whole the Middle East is a region to watch in terms of AI adoption.
He said that while cities in North America remain in the lead in the global AI race, China was starting to close the gap.
Regulatory hurdles were blunting AI development in Europe, he said.
Counterpoint Research's analysis on the Middle East echoes a report by the international Monetary Fund that indicated AI could help to boost gross domestic product by as much as 35 per cent in the UAE by 2030, and that the fast-developing technology could make up at least 12 per cent of Saudi Arabia's GDP.
The UAE − the Arab world’s second-largest economy − has expressed the desire to be an AI front-runner as it diversifies its economy from oil.
The country’s push has resulted in the establishment of start-ups, partnerships and investments from industry leaders such as Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.
Those types of investments also played a large role in Counterpoint's rankings.
"In the 2025 AI City Index report, Microsoft emerged as the most active vendor as the company expanded its AI data centre footprint significantly, engaged in several AI training initiatives, and set up new AI innovation hubs," read the report.
Counterpoint also said US-based Nvidia's partnerships with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the Dubai operator known as du, helped propel the city's ranking in the recent study.
The UAE's investments in AI have also led to the creation of language models such as Falcon Arabic, part of an effort to ensure aspects of Arabic culture are not left behind in the AI surge, as many large language models were initially based on English language data.
In 2019, the UAE announced the establishment of a university dedicated to AI, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.
Two years earlier, the Emirates was among the first country in the world to appoint an AI Minister, Omar Al Olama.
This month, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, introduced a new classification system with "icons" to indicate when AI has been used in research and publications.
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Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
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Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
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- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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