Alamy via Reuters Connect
- UAE aims to be pro-business
- Challenge to ensure safety
- Global co-operation needed
The UAE’s emphasis on fostering innovation and economic growth has made it an attractive destination for artifical intelligence (AI) investment but could risk leaving gaps in accountability and oversight of personal information, according to industry experts.
The challenge “is to balance innovation with safety in a world where AI is already out of the bottle – and regulation takes much longer to catch up with actual innovation”, says Gregor Amon, a Dubai-based entrepreneur and founder of the AI Expert Academy.
As artificial intelligence becomes a cornerstone of economic and social development, as revolutionary perhaps as the invention of the personal computer, governments around the world are grappling with regulation.
The European Union has issued a comprehensive but, according to critics, rigid series of AI rules while the UAE has adopted a lighter touch and business-friendly approach. The two philosophies reflect a global debate on how best to balance experimentation and safety.
How Brussels and London are regulating AI
The EU AI Act, passed in March 2024, established a “horizontal” (across all sectors and applications) legal framework. It aims to ensure safety, accountability and transparency in AI systems, according to its sponsors. But that comes with a downside.
The bloc’s strict regulations may create barriers for smaller businesses and startups, which can struggle to comply with costly requirements.
“Implementing comprehensive laws, as seen in the EU, makes parliamentary changes to law extremely difficult and can also threaten technological advancement,” says Asress Gikay, a senior lecturer in AI and law at Brunel University in London.
The UK’s approach is driven by each sector, without blanket regulations targeting AI as a whole. Instead, regulations address specific “pain points” in each industry. Yet many experts, including Gikay, say the UK’s regulations need further development.
UAE has a ‘patchwork of decrees’
The UAE has pursued a more agile regulatory framework as it seeks to position itself as a global centre for AI.
It “has taken a more flexible, pro-business approach, constantly aiming to make it a hub for rapid innovation”, according to Amon.
The UAE’s policies are tailored to encourage public-private partnerships and facilitate swift deployment of technology.
Rather than implementing a single law, the UAE has a “patchwork of decrees and guidelines issued over time that demonstrate the UAE’s focus on being a global leader in the AI space”, law firm White & Case wrote in a report published in October.
Meanwhile, UAE financial free zones have not issued any laws or regulations that explicitly regulate AI, although some amendments have been made to existing legislation to keep up with tech advancements due to AI, including data protection rules.
This approach prioritises innovation while seeking to mitigate risks through industry-led guidelines rather than blanket regulation.
Global challenge
Both regulatory models face challenges. Amon points to the global complexity of AI governance: “With open-source AI models already having the ability to run on basic PCs, the big question is: can regulation even work? These tools bypass safeguards, make misuse easy and obviously, the global risks are harder to control.”
In order to keep up and regulate efficiently, the world will need multi-pronged strategies, Amon argues.
“We need laws for corporate accountability, but we also need soft measures like ethical guidelines. Global co-operation to address the open-source challenges is essential,” he says.
