UAE minister Omar Al Olama in Time’s list of 100 most influential people in AI

The UAE’s Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Omar Al Olama has been named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence. He has been included in the ‘shaper’ category.

Omar Al Olama joins the likes of X-owner Elon Musk and Chat GPT creator Sam Altman.

Time AI 100 list

The Time100 AI has been compiled and released for the first time. It spotlights innovators, shapers and thinkers who are playing a crucial role in harnessing artificial intelligence.

TIME’s new cover: The 100 most influential people in AI https://t.co/I0yZ5V1gMu pic.twitter.com/ZrKIZq2veV

— TIME (@TIME) September 7, 2023

Time said, “AI’s capacity to model itself on human behavior has become its defining feature. Yet behind every advance in machine learning and large language models are, in fact, people—both the often obscured human labor that makes large language models safer to use, and the individuals who make critical decisions on when and how to best use this technology. Reporting on people and influence is what Time does best. That led us to the Time 100 AI.”

UAE at the forefront of AI adoption

Al Olama told the US magazine that the UAE’s leadership “believes that instead of waiting for this technology to come to us as a by-product of other people’s decisions and reacting to something that is foreign and alien in nature, we need to be the most prepared nation for the positives as well as the negatives of AI.”

“Initially, my view was we can do a lot in the UAE and we can do this on our own. However, I am 100 percent certain today that you cannot govern this technology on an island.”

He added that there was a need for a global treaty to govern the rapidly developing sector.

“You can’t do it on your own. You have to do it with others. And we have to do it in a way that is nonpolitical and that is truly global. So there needs to be a global treaty that includes everyone.”

Al-Olama described the UAE’s approach to governing AI as an “interesting model.”

“We understand that we are in a unique position. We are a medium-sized country, we have invested in AI for a few years now. So we were a bit far ahead of many other countries that are in this domain,” he said.

“Our job is to be first an enabler and to leverage our strength to support all the players when it comes to AI,” he said.