Smart Dubai outlines artificial intelligence roadmap

Smart Dubai Office (SDO), the government office charged with overseeing Dubai’s transformation into a smart city, hosted a one-day workshop for executives and technical teams from various government agencies to raise awareness on Dubai’s artificial intelligence service, Saad and outline a development roadmap for artificial intelligence. It was organised by the SDO's technology arm Smart Dubai Government Establishment. In October 2016, Smart Dubai Government Establishment and Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED), in collaboration with IBM, launched “Saad”, the city’s first government service utilising artificial intelligence, powered by IBM Watson. It was aimed at allowing entrepreneurs and investors to ask questions related to setting up a business in Dubai, and to get real-time responses on various topics, including business licensing requirements and registration processes. “Saad” is designed to understand natural language and ingest and comprehend massive amounts of data, learn and reason from its interactions, and provide responses that will aid users in deciding on correct courses of action. Speaking at the workshop, Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, the director general of Smart Dubai Office, emphasized the power of artificial intelligence for increasing people’s happiness in Dubai, and the value of public-private partnerships for contributing smart services to the city. "We believe that by harnessing the latest in technology we can offer innovative services to enhance citizen experiences in Dubai. The impact of Saad, which we delivered in partnership with IBM, is an example of a successful collaboration and we look forward to working side by side as we continue to transform Dubai into a Smart City," she stated. According to Dr Aisha, the Smart Dubai would soon announce its plans around the launch of a-first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence roadmap. Working with a network of partners from the public and private sector, Smart Dubai is continually exploring innovative technological solutions to improve quality of life in Dubai and make Dubai a more efficient, seamless, safe and impactful city experience. The vision of Smart Dubai is to make Dubai the happiest city on earth, she added. Amr Refaat, the general manager, IBM Middle East and Pakistan, said: "IBM and Smart Dubai Office plan to work hand in hand to equip Dubai Government Agencies with the skills necessary to accelerate their AI journey." Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government Establishment, said: "Acquiring the latest technology has become nowadays the easiest part but not the most essential element of preparing for the future." "In contrast, employing and humanizing technology is the most crucial element in preparing for the future and a goal that we have put before our eyes since the first day the Smart Dubai Government Establishment was launched,"