Abu Dhabi: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the winners of the UAE AI Award during the UAE Government Annual Meeting 2024 held in Abu Dhabi. Present alongside him was His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court. The ceremony highlighted the UAE’s commitment to pioneering the integration of artificial intelligence in government operations and public services.
According to Emirates News Agency, Sheikh Mohammed emphasized the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in reshaping businesses and public service delivery, expressing the UAE’s determination to lead in adopting AI tools to accelerate government work. The event was attended by several prominent figures, including H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and other high-ranking officials from across the UAE.
Launched by the UAE Council for Artif
icial Intelligence and Blockchain, the UAE AI Award aims to motivate federal, local, and semi-government entities to adopt advanced AI applications. It seeks to set a national benchmark for AI utilisation and promote innovative solutions that envision a digitally driven future with enhanced competitiveness.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was awarded in the Service Excellence category for its Smart Mission project, an AI-driven consulate service requiring no human intervention. This project was initially launched at the UAE Embassy in South Korea, with plans for expansion to five additional missions over the next six months.
DP World was recognized in the Operational Efficiency category for its ‘Tanbeeh’ platform. This AI-powered solution, developed by Emirati talent, enhances readiness for various challenges faced by response teams. Its features include rapid fire detection, safety compliance monitoring, accurate site access through facial recognition, and traffic pattern analysis to prevent congestion.
T
he Integrated Transport Centre received the Decision-Making category award for its STEAM+ system, which advances decision-making and transportation investments in Abu Dhabi. By processing over 70 billion data matrices, STEAM+ provides insights into transportation patterns, population needs, and anticipated mobility developments.
The Advanced Technology Research Council of Abu Dhabi was honoured with the Emirati AI Solutions award for its Falcon language model. Developed by the Technology Innovation Institute, Falcon is a large generative language model designed to support scalable application development, standing as the Arab world’s first language model on par with major global tech offerings.
The UAE AI Award received over 225 entries from 76 government and semi-government entities, and 44 private organisations, with 12 projects making it to the finals. The nominations were evaluated rigorously based on innovation, AI ethics, scalability, and overall impact.