
-
Under-pressure Doohan vows to learn from Japanese GP smash
-
Harman goes four clear at Texas Open
-
McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas cruise to wins at opening Grand Slam Track
-
US cardinal defrocked for sex abuse dies at 94
-
Lula admits 'still a lot to do' for Indigenous Brazilians
-
England, Germany and Spain on mark in women's Nations League
-
Judge orders return to US of Salvadoran man deported in error
-
Amadou of Malian blind music duo dies aged 70
-
Freeman hat-trick eases Northampton into Champions Cup quarters with Clermont win
-
Defiant Trump dismisses stock market's tariff plunge
-
Musiala injury sours Bayern win at Augsburg
-
Peruvian schoolkids living in fear of extortion gangs
-
Top seed Pegula rallies to oust defending champ Collins in Charleston
-
Amadou of Malian blind music duo Amadou & Mariam dies aged 70
-
California to defy Trump's tariffs to allay global trade fears
-
Bayern's Musiala subbed off with injury days out from Inter clash
-
Russian strike kills 16 in Ukraine leader's home city, children among dead
-
NBA fines Grizzlies' Morant for imaginary gun gesture
-
Trump tariffs offer opportunity for China
-
UK comedian Russell Brand charged with rape
-
Marsh, Markram help Lucknow edge Mumbai in IPL
-
Israel attorney general accuses PM of 'conflict of interest' in security chief dismissal
-
Emery glad to see Rashford make landmark appearance
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces more charges ahead of criminal trial
-
Russian missile strike kills 14 in Ukraine leader's home city
-
Trump's tariff Big Bang puts global economy under threat
-
I Am Maximus backed for National as Mullins hot streak continues
-
2014 World Cup winner Hummels to retire at season's end
-
Intercommunal violence kills dozens in central Nigeria
-
Nigerian, S. African music saw 'extraordinary growth' in 2024: Spotify
-
Russell Brand: From Hollywood star to rape suspect
-
France soccer star Mbappe unveiled in London... in waxwork form
-
Trump goads China as global trade war escalates
-
Israel expands Gaza ground offensive, hits Hamas in Lebanon
-
TikTok faces new US deadline to ditch Chinese owner
-
US Fed Chair warns tariffs will likely raise inflation, cool growth
-
Mbappe among three Real Madrid players fined for 'indecent conduct'
-
How can the EU respond to Trump tariffs?
-
Canada loses jobs for first time in 3 years as US tariffs bite
-
Real Madrid and Barcelona respect each other, says Ancelotti
-
Nations divided ahead of decisive week for shipping emissions
-
Trump goads China after Beijing retaliates in global trade war
-
Arteta urges Arsenal to enjoy "beautiful" run-in despite injury woes
-
London mayor gets new powers to revive capital's ailing nightlife
-
Italy's ski star Brignone takes on 'new challenge' after serious leg injury
-
Amorim in a 'rush' to succeed at Man Utd
-
PSG coach Luis Enrique targets unbeaten season
-
Duterte victims seeking 'truth and justice': lawyer
-
UK comedian and actor Russell Brand charged with rape
-
Postecoglou 'falling out of love' with football due to VAR
RBGPF | 1.48% | 69.02 | $ | |
SCS | -0.56% | 10.68 | $ | |
RYCEF | -18.79% | 8.25 | $ | |
AZN | -7.98% | 68.46 | $ | |
BTI | -5.17% | 39.86 | $ | |
GSK | -6.79% | 36.53 | $ | |
RELX | -6.81% | 48.16 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.13% | 22.29 | $ | |
NGG | -5.25% | 65.93 | $ | |
BP | -10.43% | 28.38 | $ | |
RIO | -6.88% | 54.67 | $ | |
JRI | -7.19% | 11.96 | $ | |
BCE | 0.22% | 22.71 | $ | |
BCC | 0.85% | 95.44 | $ | |
VOD | -10.24% | 8.5 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.7% | 22.83 | $ |

UAE vows 'responsible' artificial intelligence rollout
The world's first minister for artificial intelligence says the United Arab Emirates isn't only looking for economic benefits as it seeks to become a leading nation in the sector.
The UAE's minister of state for AI, Omar bin Sultan al-Olama, said "quality of life" considerations were key, and also stressed the importance of a "responsible" rollout -- with impacts potentially reverberating for decades.
"We are looking at AI as a tool," he told AFP in an interview in Dubai. "It's a tool that we need to use to unleash the quality of life aspect."
The UAE also calls AI "machine intelligence", defining it as a branch of technology enabling systems to "think, learn, and make decisions like humans", which can support everything from virology to transport.
"Yes, economic gain is something that every country wants, and we want it too," Olama added. "But... we want to ensure the development and deployment and the use of AI is responsible."
Olama was just 27 when he was handed the cabinet-level position in 2017, tasked with launching the oil-rich Arab nation's strategy in a field which touches everything from speech and facial recognition to commerce and autonomous cars.
His appointment came a year after the UAE also named ministers for happiness, hoping to create a "happier society", and tolerance, mainly aimed at promoting coexistence in the Gulf country where foreigners make up the majority of the population.
The UAE's stated goal is to become one of the leading AI nations by 2031, creating new economic and business opportunities and generating up to 335 billion dirhams ($91 billion) in extra growth.
According to consultancy firm PwC Middle East, nearly 14 percent ($96 billion) of the UAE's gross domestic product will come from AI by 2030.
"The UAE was the only country that appointed someone to actually oversee this mandate seriously," Olama said.
- Driverless taxis -
The wealthy Gulf country has invested heavily in technology over the past decade as it diversifies its economy and reduces its reliance on oil.
Its bets include driverless cars, with autonomous taxis already tested on the streets of the capital Abu Dhabi, while Dubai, another of the country's seven emirates, aims to have a quarter of its transport driverless by 2030.
Abu Dhabi's Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, touted as the world's first graduate-level AI university, opened to students last year, and the country has launched a number of start-up hubs and training schemes.
However, the UAE has also drawn concern over its high levels of surveillance, and in 2019 it denied reports that a popular mobile app was being used for government spying.
Olama said a big part of his job was instilling public confidence and avoiding costly errors when AI systems are put in place.
The dangers of AI include inadvertently introducing bias against certain groups of people, which could prove damaging in areas such as public services.
"It entails that there's no controversy around the deployment," Olama said of his role. "It entails that we focus on deploying it today, but in a way that makes sure it does not impact future generations negatively."
- 'Element of fear' -
An important step in the project, he said, was to properly explain AI to senior officials, to "demystify" the technology and reduce the "element of fear".
"If you're dealing with something you don't understand, you will have an aspect or element of fear associated with it, it's human nature," he said.
"One programme... is focused on training senior government officials on understanding what AI is, understanding the ethical dilemma, understanding what good and bad deployments are, how do you remove bias.
"Today, these people are our AI army. They are the people that are deploying AI across government, and really have a very strong foundation that they can build on."
The UAE also has ambitions of becoming a major player in other areas of science and technology, sending its first astronaut into space in 2019 and launching a probe in 2020 that went into Mars' orbit the following year.
This month, the country announced a digital economy strategy -- including a council headed by Olama -- hoping the sector will contribute 20 percent of GDP within 10 years.
"I don't think in the next quarter-of-a-century there's going to be an economy in the world that is not dependent for the majority of its economic activity on the digital realm, and AI is a big component of that," said Olama.
"I also think we have not seen the true impact of AI on the economy."
M.Gameiro--PC