A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) smart lab in Dubai will soon begin training government employees and private sector officials to implement AI in a wide variety of tasks, officials said.

The lab was launched on Monday during a workshop by the Smart Dubai Office and Smart Dubai Government Establishment.

The lab will begin training a batch of 200 people next month, but will later on be open to researchers, students and the general public,  a report in Khaleej Times said.

The workshop was organised by Smart Dubai Government Establishment, the technology arm of Smart Dubai Office, for executives and technical teams from various Dubai government agencies to raise awareness on Dubai’s artificial intelligence service, Saad, and outline a development roadmap for artificial intelligence in Dubai.

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.

The service was launched to allow 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, director general of Smart Dubai Office, emphasised 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 said.

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. Based on the above, this workshop is held to pave the way for the launch of the AI Lab for all services in Dubai City to be compatible with artificial intelligence requirements."

Lootah added: "The more we mention artificial intelligence, the more it comes to our minds such challenges as how machines will do human jobs. We in Dubai, however, believe that this involves a golden opportunity for a better and happier future. The AI Lab is launched as a platform to achieve this goal in partnership with the government entities and educational institutions, enabling the mechanisms of work of all of us to be compatible with what the future can hold."

"We are launching the AI Lab with the 10X initiative before our eyes for enabling all of us to prepare from today for the 10 years to come", he said. - TradeArabia News Service