Why Dubai and the UAE Are Leading the World in AI: A Kid's Guide

I'm Parikshet and I live in Dubai. People from outside the UAE often ask me: "What's it actually like to grow up there as a kid interested in AI?" The honest answer: it is extraordinary. The UAE has made AI a national identity, not just a government policy. Here is what that looks like from the inside.

The World's First Minister of AI

In 2017, the UAE appointed Omar Al Olama as the world's first ever Minister of Artificial Intelligence. This was a signal. Most countries talk about AI policy through committees and think tanks. The UAE put a minister in charge — with a seat at the cabinet table. That decision meant AI was not just a technology issue but a national strategic priority, alongside defence, finance, and foreign policy.

Al Olama's mandate covers the UAE's AI ecosystem: research funding, international partnerships, regulatory frameworks, and talent development. His office coordinates across government so that AI adoption happens across all sectors simultaneously, not department by department.

National AI Strategy 2031

The UAE National AI Strategy 2031 sets out a plan to make the UAE one of the world's leading AI nations. The goals: use AI to improve government efficiency, grow AI-related industries as part of economic diversification (reducing dependence on oil revenue), build AI research capability, and develop AI talent domestically.

One specific target: AI is projected to contribute 35% of the UAE's GDP by 2031. For a country that built its economy on oil and logistics, this is a genuine and ambitious structural transformation.

AI Everywhere I Look

Living in Dubai means AI is not theoretical. I see it daily.

The traffic system uses AI to adjust signal timing in real time, reducing congestion by 20% on major corridors. Dubai Police smart patrol vehicles have facial recognition built into their windshields — they can identify wanted persons from the road. The government's "Happiness Meter" at service counters uses facial expression AI to gauge citizen satisfaction in real time. My local supermarket checkout uses self-checkout with visual AI that identifies items without barcodes.

For a kid studying AI, this is like being a cricket enthusiast who lives next door to a cricket stadium. The subject of study is everywhere.

The 1 Million Prompters Programme

This is the programme I am most proud to have completed. Launched in 2023, the goal is to train one million UAE residents in AI prompt engineering — the skill of communicating with AI systems effectively. It is free, online, and open to all ages.

I enrolled with my dad when I was 10. The curriculum covers: what prompts are, how different types of instructions produce different AI outputs, how to write specific and effective prompts, and how to evaluate AI responses critically. I received my certification and am one of the youngest in the programme to do so.

MBZUAI: A University Entirely Dedicated to AI

Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi is one of the world's very few universities with an exclusive focus on AI research and education. It offers graduate degrees (Masters and PhD) in machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, and has attracted researchers from top universities worldwide. For a 11-year-old in the UAE with ambitions in AI, knowing that world-class AI research is happening locally matters.

What This Means for Kids Like Me

Growing up in a country that treats AI as a national priority means: there are funded programmes to learn AI skills, there are real-world examples of AI deployment visible in daily life, and there is a cultural context that validates taking AI seriously as a young person. My generation in the UAE will inherit an economy that has deliberately restructured itself around AI capability. We had better be ready for it — and most of us are.