Experts have embraced the establishment of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) council in Abu Dhabi as a significant step towards fortifying national cybersecurity.
The Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), unveiled on January 22 by the Abu Dhabi government, will oversee the formulation of policies and strategies concerning research, infrastructure, and investments in AI and advanced technology in the UAE’s capital emirate.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office stated, “The inception of the AIATC underscores a firm conviction in the significance of technological leadership in shaping the economy of the future.”
According to the statement, “The council will devise schemes and research initiatives in partnership with local and global collaborators to elevate Abu Dhabi’s standing in the realms of AI and advanced technology.”
The Role of Cybersecurity in AI
Shilpi Handa, IDC’s associate research director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa cybersecurity division, anticipates cybersecurity to hold a pivotal position within the council.
Handa remarked, “The council is likely to concentrate on several crucial areas to ensure the responsible and secure implementation of AI technologies, including addressing adversarial AI threats, upholding data privacy, rectifying algorithmic biases, and advocating for transparency.”
Nader Henein, Gartner’s vice president and analyst, highlighted the essential role of an entity like AIATC in upholding and advancing AI trust and ethical AI development as part of an AI intelligence trust, risk, and security management initiative.
Henein noted, “It remains premature to determine whether there will be a targeted focus on cybersecurity use cases by the council. There exist numerous such use cases within the AI domain. These may range from defensive measures, such as real-time analysis of access logs across all enterprise systems to detect anomalies and potential attacks, to offensive measures aimed at pinpointing vulnerabilities.”
Significance of Cybersecurity Focus
Henein proposed that AIATC could implement a program akin to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) two-year AI Cyber Challenge, which tasks participants with identifying and remedying software vulnerabilities through AI.
The Gartner expert emphasized the “critical importance” of AIATC’s emphasis on cybersecurity, citing that AI advancements, both generative and otherwise, serve as a “distinctive cybersecurity force multiplier.”
This development aligns with Abu Dhabi’s persistent emphasis on AI innovation and progress, steered by The UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 vision.
Further Technological Endeavors in the UAE
Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council recently introduced AI71, a firm dedicated to AI, as the Emirate intensifies its efforts to emerge as a global center for cutting-edge technology.
AI71 aims to democratize AI accessibility and leverages large language models (LLMs) developed by the council’s Technology Innovation Institute (TTI). The company aims to cater to key economic sectors, with initial plans to introduce LLMs tailored for the medical, legal, education, and government domains, with more sectors in the pipeline, as per Faisal Al Bannai, the council’s secretary general.
In the past year, TTI unveiled its enhanced flagship LLM Falcon, while Abu Dhabi-based AI company Inception, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and Cerebras Systems introduced Jais, an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model.
According to estimates by management consultancy Strategy&, the overall economic impact of GenAI in the Persian Gulf region could potentially reach $23.5 billion annually by 2030.
