DUBAI, May 28 : A highly anticipated session titled “AI: Secret Weapon or Your Worst Nightmare?” during the Arab Media Forum received rapt attention from the audience and spotlighted Dubai’s and the UAE’s renewed efforts to harness the vast potential of the path-breaking technology.
The session, held under the auspices of the Dubai Media Council as part of the Arab Media Summit 2025, featured Dr. Marwan Alzarooni, Chief Executive Officer of Artificial Intelligence at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism; and Hamad Al Shirawi, Director of Projects at Dubai Future Foundation.
Right at the outset of the session, Dr. Alzarooni put to rest any guesses on AI’s influence across diverse spheres of life, emphatically stating, “AI is here to stay.”
The UAE is taking bold steps to leverage AI, and this marks just a start, he added. On the media scene too, a series of economic initiatives are putting in place a value chain for media content creators, he noted.
Dr. Alzarooni said it was never too late to join the AI wave and there were opportunities aplenty to upskill through online content and initiatives in the UAE. The onus was very much on individuals to put it to the best use in every aspect of life. Dubai continues to obtain proof of the value AI brings to various government entities, and sectors such as healthcare, property technology, logistics and sustainable manufacturing are among key focus areas, he added.
He also cautioned that the disparity between AI users and non-users would only grow wider with users standing to obtain significantly more granular content, and at scale.
There are industries where the gap between AI users and non-users is already stark, he said, adding that we are heading in the direction of ‘vibe coding,’ which will see ‘one-man startups’ effectively carrying out tasks with markedly reduced overheads and payrolls.
In turn, Al Shirawi emphasised Dubai’s and the UAE’s vision to ‘embrace’ AI. Constantly working alongside public entities to catalogue best use cases involving AI, Dubai is extremely keen to harness the immense possibilities of the technology, he added.
He provided the example of Dubai Police and their use of AI to achieve a 300 percent improvement in solving cases involving lost-and-found possessions. A mundane task prone to human error had been made immensely easier and with superb outcomes by applying AI, he pointed out.
Al Shirawi elaborated that the emphasis in Dubai and the UAE was always to take people along when ushering in change, as in the case of AI. He sought to allay concerns around AI, harking back to the scenario when the internet first came along, triggering massive apprehensions of job losses and economic instabilities, until people eventually adapted.
He said it was important to understand challenges and the productivity gains that could be achieved through AI, reaffirming that Dubai was the best place to be where innovation was concerned.
He cited the One Million Prompters initiative as an example of this readiness to be the first mover. The concept was to raise the baseline for AI adoption and empower AI experts based on best use cases from various sectors.
In conclusion, Al Shirawi stressed that AI is no longer a secret weapon and has instead become a must-have arrow in everyone’s quiver, and it is up to people to capitalise on it. His caveat: deciding not to use it might lead to a nightmare situation.
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