Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
As 2025 draws to a close, the UAE is wrapping up a year marked by major milestones on the tech front, propelled by the nation’s AI agenda and the large-scale adoption and implementation of AI-driven solutions.
International rankings kept pointing in the same direction: the country is among the world’s most prepared and most active in using AI, especially across government entities.
Leader in AI Readiness
Oxford Insights’ Government AI Readiness Index 2024 placed the UAE first in the region and 13th globally in AI readiness, while Microsoft’s analysis put the UAE at the very top for adoption, with 59.4% of the working-age population already using AI tools.
That momentum sits on a strong digital base. The UAE has led the world for nine consecutive years in fibre-to-the-home coverage, reaching 99.5%, and in March 2025 it ranked first globally for mobile speeds and second for fixed broadband speeds, according to Ookla.
At the same time, AI is increasingly visible inside public services, with systems being redesigned around automation and data-driven decision-making.
The UAE also topped the UN’s Telecommunication Infrastructure Index in the 2024 E-Government Survey. Even the labour market reflects the shift, with LinkedIn-cited data showing AI roles growing by 74% a year, faster than any other area.
Implementing AI at Scale
Against that backdrop, 2025 became a year of big moves. One of the standout announcements was the launch of the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index for Federal Entities, designed to assess how prepared federal bodies are to implement AI at scale. It came alongside a striking figure: a 97% utilisation rate of AI tools across federal entities, signalling how deeply AI has already been embedded in government operations.
The UAE also pushed its AI story beyond its borders. It launched the $1 billion “AI for Development” initiative, aimed at supporting AI-driven projects and digital infrastructure across African countries, linking innovation to wider development goals.
At the emirate level, Abu Dhabi is advancing its Digital Government Strategy 2025-2027 to accelerate the shift towards AI-native public services. The strategy focuses on scaling AI use cases across government, strengthening data and digital infrastructure, and expanding workforce capabilities so AI becomes embedded in how services are designed, delivered, and continuously improved.
A key highlight of the strategy is to create a flexible and scalable foundation to achieve 100% adoption of sovereign cloud computing for government operations and digitising and automating 100% of processes.
AI’s Role in Preserving Culture
Notably, the UAE has positioned AI not only as a technological priority, but also as a tool that must reflect and preserve national culture and values. The country launched “AI in the Ring,” described as the world’s first benchmark focused on how well AI models reflect Emirati culture and values. Under this initiative, Google Gemini ranked as the top-performing model after an expert review of hundreds of questions and thousands of responses.
Skills development expanded in parallel. The government’s AI office, working with Google, launched “AI for All” during UAE Codes 2025, rolling out training that targets students, professionals, creators and SMEs through 2026.
Abu Dhabi also launched an AI Ecosystem for Global Agricultural Development, building on a UAE–Gates Foundation partnership, aiming to bring practical AI tools to climate-affected farming communities.
Infrastructure and Research
On the infrastructure and research side, 2025 carried heavyweight announcements including a 5-gigawatt UAE–US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi, described as the largest supercomputing cluster outside the US, and a UAE-France AI framework that includes a dedicated 1-gigawatt data centre and cooperation in semiconductors, energy and research.
The year also highlighted technical advances such as the debut of Jais 2, a large Arabic-first language model, and the introduction of K2 Think, an open-source reasoning system developed through MBZUAI and G42. To keep innovation competitive, the UAE also launched the second edition of the UAE Artificial Intelligence Award, encouraging stronger AI implementation across both government and the private sector.
All of this played out alongside a busy public calendar that helped turn strategy into a visible ecosystem. Key moments included UAE Coding Day (UAE Codes 2025), GITEX Global 2025, Envision 2025, Dubai AI Week 2025, and Global AI Show Abu Dhabi 2025.
