AI and the UAE: Leading with vision, innovating with responsibility

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the UAE’s economy and society at an extraordinary pace, positioning the country as a global leader in AI innovation. The UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031 sets out a comprehensive vision to become one of the world’s foremost AI hubs by 2031, aligning with the broader Centennial 2071 ambition to make the UAE the best country in the world. This vision is supported by eight strategic objectives including building a fertile AI ecosystem, attracting and training future talent, deploying AI across priority sectors such as energy, tourism, and education, and ensuring strong governance and regulation.

The strategic goals set by the UAE’s AI agenda reflects a clear understanding that economic growth must be coupled with ethical and inclusive practices. As AI technologies are deployed across healthcare, transportation, education, and other sectors, leaders must guide their organisations through this transformation with a focus on long-term societal benefit. The UAE’s model of public-private partnerships, robust governance frameworks, and investment in research and development creates a blueprint for responsible AI adoption.

The UAE’s approach to AI is unique in its integration of innovation with governance. The establishment of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence in 2017, the first of its kind globally, exemplifies this commitment. This ministry leads national AI efforts, drafts regulatory frameworks, and champions human-centric AI designed to empower people rather than replace them. The government’s proactive investments in digital infrastructure and AI-powered public services such as Abu Dhabi’s strategy to become the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027 demonstrate how AI is embedded at every level of governance and economic activity.

Leadership in this AI-driven landscape requires more than technical proficiency. It demands a new paradigm where leaders combine digital fluency with empathy, ethical judgment, and inclusivity. Research underscores that the most successful leaders will be those who leverage AI to foster creativity, challenge biases, and build cultures of trust and psychological safety.

To be effective, a leader in an organisation adopting AI in some of its workflows will need to integrate AI into strategic planning and key decision-making. Leaders need to realise that proactive adoption of AI would give them an edge over the competition.

To realise its advantages leaders will need to learn how to change mindsets, find newer challenging problems to address, recognise and fill skill gaps, understand how predictive analytics can be used to inform better decision making for themselves. The ability to be a translator, understand the fear of the team and create a culture of openness and transparency are essential actions for a leader to take to indeed gain the advantages made possible by AI.

There is a concern that AI would lead to biases and also favour the educated and the rich. Concerns related to ethics have been raised and these are especially critical in UAE’s diverse and multicultural business environment where only inclusive leadership can unlock innovation and sustainable growth.

The UAE’s commitment to nurturing AI talent is evident in initiatives such as embedding AI literacy from early education through to higher learning and the launch of specialised institutions like The Applied AI University. These efforts ensure that the workforce and leadership pipeline are prepared for the evolving demands of an AI-integrated economy. Moreover, the country is pioneering AI regulation, exemplified by the world’s first AI-powered regulatory intelligence ecosystem approved in 2025, which accelerates the legislative process while maintaining balance between innovation and oversight. These are all steps in the right direction. In addition, leadership at all levels can partner with the policy makers to continuously improve the policy such that the interests of the humans and their enterprises remain at the core rather than the adoption of AI.

The UAE’s AI journey is not simply about technology adoption. It is about cultivating a new kind of leadership that embraces complexity, drives innovation, and prioritises human values.

Neharika Vohra is a specialist in behavioural science and Professor in Organisational Behaviour, IIM Ahmedabad