In Saudi Arabia’s eastern Al Ahsa region, patients have become the first to experience a glimpse of the future – a clinic where an AI “physician” assesses patients, offering diagnoses and treatment plans.
Yet even here, every AI-generated diagnosis and treatment plan passes through human hands for review and approval. While the AI system handles consultations autonomously, human physicians act as safety gatekeepers, reviewing each recommendation and intervening in scenarios that exceed the system’s offering. This groundbreaking trial underscores a lesson resonating across global health care: AI’s immense promise must be harnessed in ways that complement, not replace, human care.
Across health systems worldwide, a consensus is emerging: the real power of AI lies in augmenting, not substituting, health professionals. AI can process vast datasets, detect subtle patterns and make faster, more informed decisions but unlocking this potential hinges on something deeper: public trust.
A 2024 study of European healthcare users found that patients trust human doctors far more than AI-only systems, with nearly 80 per cent still preferring a doctor or a doctor supported by AI over fully autonomous AI-based care. This is not simply about familiarity – for many, it reflects discomfort with fast-moving technology, concerns about transparency and fears over losing the human judgment and context that define safe clinical care.
The American Medical Association adopts a similar position, arguing that new technologies be adopted with clear safeguards and appropriate oversight. In practice, this reveals that AI’s most important role is to amplify physicians’ capabilities by, for example, flagging a subtle pattern on an MRI or automating routine documentation. At the same time, doctors will continue to provide the final layer of clinical judgment and responsibility.
But trust alone is not enough. Just as vital is preparing the healthcare workforce to operate confidently in this AI-enabled world. This means equipping professionals not only with technical skills, but with the digital literacy to understand how algorithms function, where they may introduce risks and how to safely integrate AI into clinical pathways. Those with advanced AI competencies will not only safeguard care quality, they will also become essential to modern health systems – in-demand, adaptive and ahead of the curve. In Saudi Arabia, health education is already introducing AI-driven modules and simulations that equip clinicians with the skills to use these tools responsibly.
Globally, there is still work to be done. A recent World Health Organisation-backed study found that nearly 20 per cent of countries offer no digital skills training to their health professionals – a worrying gap in an era when AI tools are becoming ubiquitous.
Beyond the clinic, AI is also transforming system-level planning. The inter-professional competency system, iCare, developed by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, is driving the digital transformation in health and care workforce capability development. In the near future, it will offer integration with next‑generation health information management systems, AI‑powered clinical tools, telemedicine and 24/7 chatbot assistance.
Even as Saudi institutions embrace AI, they are drawing hard lines around trust, safety and human dignity to ensure technology serves the public good
By analysing data on patient needs and staffing levels, such tools help ensure that healthcare providers are optimally deployed, serving patients in the right places at the right times. Strategic planning powered by AI, from predicting specialty shortages to aligning training pathways, will be vital to building resilient, efficient healthcare systems. This requires educating practitioners on both the capabilities and limitations of AI, allowing innovation to advance alongside the human expertise and empathy that are essential to maintaining patient trust.
The challenge, of course, is maintaining public trust amid the accelerating pace of AI healthcare innovation and perhaps growing public familiarity with unregulated AI technologies in other areas. The last few years have seen an explosion of AI tools, from diagnostic algorithms to generative chatbots, often outpacing the guardrails that ensure safety and efficacy.
Global organisations such as the WHO have articulated ethical principles for AI in health, insisting that systems respect human dignity and rights, and promote equity, fairness and accountability. Yet even the WHO acknowledges the challenge for regulators to maintain pace with AI’s swift advances, calling for adaptive governance to manage risks without stifling beneficial innovation. The tension between moving fast and getting it right is very real. A single high-profile AI failure in patient care could erode public confidence for years. Transparency, rigorous validation, and clear ethical guidelines are thus not red tape; on the contrary, they are prerequisites for long-term public trust in digital health.
Saudi Arabia offers valuable lessons in navigating this complex terrain. The country has embraced AI within its health sector as part of its Vision 2030 transformation. It has coupled ambition with robust oversight and ethics. The Saudi Authority for Data and AI issued comprehensive AI Ethics Principles in 2023 to guide all stakeholders. These principles, covering fairness, transparency, privacy, humanity and more, align with global best practices and make clear that AI systems must be human-centric, safe and bias-free. In other words, even as Saudi institutions embrace AI, they are drawing hard lines around trust, safety and human dignity to ensure technology serves the public good.
Ultimately, this is not a choice between technological advancement and human leadership. It’s about building systems where intelligent tools extend professional capabilities, while ethical standards, public accountability and skilled human judgment remain firmly in control. If we can manage that balance, we will avoid a future where AI becomes a detached and mechanical replacement for personal patient care, and emerges rather as a powerful ally, guided by clinical wisdom and empathy that delivers accurate and trusted health care for all.
The biog
Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
Superpower%20
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
HOW TO WATCH
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
