Sheikh Mohamed visits Abu Dhabi’s AI university

President Sheikh Mohamed hailed Abu Dhabi's artificial intelligence university for developing the next generation of advanced technology talent during a visit on Friday.

Sheikh Mohamed highlighted the crucial role being played by the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, in Masdar City, in shaping the nation's vision for the future.

The President was briefed on the university's key global partnerships in the rapidly evolving field and was briefed on the academic programmes on offer, key areas of research focus, and the resources available to students, during the tour.

Sheikh Mohamed inspected the university's data observatory, where researchers and faculty members presented five AI-driven research projects covering energy, climate, medicine, genetics, media and robotics.

In addition, two start-ups from the university’s incubator and entrepreneurship centre showcased their work.

Sheikh Mohamed met Prof Eric Xing, president of MBZUAI, along with faculty members, administrators and postgraduate students.

He urged students to continue their academic pursuits, emphasising the benefits of advancing knowledge to serve their nation.

Sheikh Mohamed underlined the key role to be played by the university in preparing citizens for the careers of the future in a knowledge-based economy − in which AI will be at the forefront.

He also expressed his hopes that the university would contribute to a strong scientific foundation through specialised AI research and studies.

Prof Xing said MBZUAI had achieved a number of milestones since its establishment in 2019, ranking 10th globally in artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and computational biology.

He praised the UAE leadership’s ongoing support for the university.

Sheikh Mohamed was joined on the visit by ministers and senior officials, including Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser; Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi Executive Council member and managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company,

UAE embraces AI revolution

The launch of the university in AI was central to the UAE's efforts to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence and help to steer its development on the global stage.

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, was appointed the world's first AI minister in 2017.

In 2023, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence in a Time magazine list, joining the likes of billionaire business magnate Elon Musk and Chat GPT creator Sam Altman.

Sheikh Tahnoon was part of the same list the following year. Sheikh Tahnoon, chairman of Abu Dhabi's leading artificial intelligence and cloud computing group G42, has been pivotal to the UAE's efforts to champion the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

In April, G42 received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft. The expanded partnership includes the creation of a $1 billion fund to support developers, aimed at enhancing the Middle East's technology talent pool.

An Abu Dhabi-developed artificial intelligence large language model for Arabic was unveiled in 2023, 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 G42, MBZUAI and Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems.

Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community

• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style

“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.

Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.

From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”

• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International

"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."

• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."

• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com

"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.

His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.

Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."

• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher

"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”

• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."

Sheikh Mohamed visits Abu Dhabi’s AI university

President hails key role of MBZUAI in shaping nation’s future

UAE embraces AI revolution

Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community