Finding the right balance between human touch and technology is the biggest challenge for companies in the Middle East

• Senior business leaders converge on Dubai for the second AI Week Middle East
• Delegates discuss AI adoption initiatives and challenges

 
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 16 September 2019:  IQPC Middle East’s second Artificial Intelligence Week was hosted at the Oberoi Hotel Dubai and organized with the official support of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

Inaugurated by H.H. Sheikha Maryam Al Qasimi, Government Relations and Protocol Specialist for Lead Ventures at The Office of Sheikh Sultan bin Abdullah Al Qasimi,  and Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President International Affairs at Emirates, the event saw participation from influential and leading organisations including the Prime Minister’s Office, Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulation (DCHR), UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, Smart Dubai, ING, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Al Zahra Hospitals, Saudi Aramco, King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, and many more.

Knowing the central role AI plays, the Department of Health — Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, has been the first entity in the MENA region to pursue and launch an artificial intelligence policy for the healthcare sector. 

Dr. Hamed Al Hashemi, Director, Strategy Division at Department of Health, Abu Dhabi said: “In utilizing tech-based solutions like AI we can build a future-proof healthcare system. These systems are capable of providing more efficient, safe and evidence-based quality of care while forging ahead with bringing new, innovative ways of healthcare services delivery.”

“The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has big ambitions to improve the healthcare sector through technology. The second Artificial Intelligence Week in Dubai once again provided an ideal platform for experts to discuss the integration of AI into different sectors, especially in healthcare which is one of the leading sectors to have begun adopting this technology,” he added

Other companies shared their AI programmes including Smart Dubai who presented their efforts in making Dubai the digital city of the future. 
“As technological advances permeate the boundaries of innovation and ideation, companies are keen to explore partners and solutions that can fast track AI deployment. The need of the hour is to filter solutions that are ‘hype’ from those that will generate ROI for companies.” said Clement Edwards, Head of Partnerships, IQPC Middle East. 

Leading companies in the AI space including Microsoft, Automation Anywhere, Darktrace, Honeywell, GE Healthcare, Edgeverve and Datacamp showcased their solutions and offerings at the event. 

“The UAE is undergoing a significant wave of digitization. We are seeing businesses and governments stepping up to the fourth industrial revolution and driving transformation across all sectors”, said Necip Ozyucel, Cloud and Enterprise Group Lead, Microsoft UAE. “Our goal is to make AI accessible and valuable to everyone by amplifying human ingenuity for them to achieve greater productivity and drive growth. Our participation at AI Week this year along with many other initiatives reiterates Microsoft’s commitment to the UAE’s AI agenda and empowering the country’s public and private sectors to achieve more.”

James Connolly, Country Manager at Darktrace, said: “In the run up to Expo 2020 there has been a huge shift in attitudes towards security in the UAE and companies, organizations and government who are using AI technologies to augment their security teams and strengthen their defenses. Darktrace is the world’s leading cyber AI company and the creator of Autonomous Response technology.

Its self-learning AI is modeled on the human immune system and used by over 3,000 organizations to protect against threats to the cloud, email, IoT, networks and industrial systems. Every three seconds, Darktrace AI fights back against a cyber-threat, preventing it from causing damage.”