AI is the cornerstone in designing Dubai’s future, says Sheikh Hamdan

Dubai: Artificial intelligence (AI) will be central to designing Dubai’s future initiatives and services, said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).
Speaking ahead of the inaugural Dubai AI Week, which opens on Monday, Sheikh Hamdan noted that Dubai possesses the vision, infrastructure and capabilities required to lead the next wave of global AI development.
“More than 10 years ago, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, envisioned a future where every government service would be at our fingertips. Today, we are taking the next bold step into that future,” Sheikh Hamdan said, noting that AI will serve as the foundation of Dubai’s future.
He said that the city is not only prepared to embrace upcoming transformations across sectors, but is actively shaping them – leveraging AI to enhance quality of life and unlock opportunities.
“AI is no longer just a tool – it is the infrastructure for cities that think, services that adapt, and governments that anticipate. In this new era of progress, AI will shape Dubai’s future.”

Sheikh Hamdan highlighted that the future will be defined by how well governments, institutions, and societies integrate AI into their core strategies – particularly across public services, education, and the economy.
“We will begin by assessing government entities based on their AI integration and measuring the academic sector by its contributions to AI research and teaching. We will also celebrate the companies advancing Dubai’s AI economy. This is Dubai’s new standard – those who do not embrace AI today will fall behind. See you at Dubai AI Week,” he said about the event organised by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI) and overseen by DFF.

What to expect?

Day 1 of Dubai AI Week features the AI Retreat – a high level gathering of policymakers and industry experts discussing AI adoption and regulation – and the start of the Dubai AI Assembly, which will host country delegations, AI-specific activations and a series of sessions and workshops on the future of AI implementation across a variety of sectors.
Dubai AI Week will feature a wide range of high-impact activations across five days, beginning with the AI Retreat at the Museum of the Future, which will gather 150 government officials and global AI experts and host four closed-door roundtable discussions exploring the themes of data and governance, infrastructure, economy and investment, and talent development.

The retreat will open with a welcome address from Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, followed by keynote remarks from Michael Spranger, Chief Operating Officer of Sony AI Inc., and Yossi Matias, Vice President and Head of Google Research.

Dubai Assembly for AI

The Dubai Assembly for AI will take place at AREA 2071 in Emirates Towers from April 21 to 25. It will bring together delegations from 15 countries, including South Korea, Canada, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, and the UK, as well as 25 global tech companies, 18 government entities, 20 universities and research centres, and 60 AI startups showcasing cutting-edge innovations. More than 50 sessions will be hosted across the assembly.

Featured events

Taking place from April 21 to 25, Dubai AI Week will bring together over 10,000 participants from more than 100 nationalities, with attendees including global experts, entrepreneurs, policymakers, regulators, investors and tech innovators.

Other standout events across the week include the Global Prompt Engineering Championship, the Dubai AI Festival and the Machines Can See Summit. Complementing these flagship events are a series of community-driven programmes, including AI Week in Schools, the Dubai AI Week Hackathon. The week will also feature sector-specific engagements, including the HIMSS Executive Summit 2025, and the International Conference on AI Innovations.