The UAE will include an AI system as a non-voting member on government boards and the Council of Ministers from next year. The AI will help guide decisions using data and insights, not replace human leaders. This move makes the UAE one of the first countries to officially include AI in top-level governance.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will soon include a national artificial intelligence (AI) system as an advisory member of the Cabinet and other government boards. This new step will begin next year and marks a big change in how the country plans its future. The AI system will not vote or replace leaders but will help them make better decisions using data and technology.
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The UAE is the first country to officially include an AI system as a non-voting member on all federal and government company boards. It will also join the Council of Ministers as an advisor. The system will give advice, suggest improvements, and use data to show possible results of decisions. Leaders will use this to guide their choices, but the final say will still come from people.
This shows the UAE’s strong interest in using AI not just for basic tasks but also for important roles in leadership and planning.
According to a recent report by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), governments around the world need to change. Instead of acting slowly or only reacting to problems, they should start shaping the future in a more active way. The UAE is following this advice by using AI to help with faster, smarter, and better planning.
While many countries are still thinking about whether it’s safe or fair to use AI in government, the UAE has decided to act now. The country is not using AI just to help with small tasks. Instead, it is making it a key part of how decisions are made.
AI has come a long way since the 1950s. Today’s AI can read and analyze huge amounts of data, find problems, and even test different decisions through simulations. Some experts, like Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic), believe we could reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) in as little as two years. AGI would be able to understand and think like humans in many areas.
For example, with the right data, an AI system could study many years of budget reports and predict how different decisions might affect the economy. It could do this in a few hours—something that would take humans weeks or months.
In business, AI is already helping leaders make decisions. For instance, the tech company Salesforce says AI now handles about 50% of its daily work. In another case, the Chinese company NetDragon Websoft made an AI system its CEO. This helped raise the company’s stock price by 10%.
These examples show that AI can play a strong role in leadership when used wisely. The UAE is now bringing this idea into the public sector by giving AI a seat at the government table.
The AI system will not vote or make final decisions. Instead, it will support human leaders by:
This helps leaders act faster and with more confidence. It also matches the idea of “anticipatory governance,” which means planning for the future instead of just reacting to problems. This is important because governments today face fast-changing problems like climate change, health issues, and international conflicts.
The UAE says its AI system will follow strict rules to stay safe and fair. The government will make sure the system follows its own national AI guidelines. These rules are designed to build trust with the public and keep the system ethical and transparent.
The OECD has also said that slow governments can lose people’s trust. By using AI the right way, the UAE hopes to stay fast, fair, and forward-thinking.
To make this new system work, the UAE will need skilled workers. Not just AI engineers, but also:
All of them will need to learn how to work with AI tools. The OECD says that public workers will need digital skills, the ability to think across systems, and good teamwork to succeed. This way, AI and people can work together to create smarter policies.
The UAE’s plan answers a big question: What if governments became a place where both human and artificial intelligence could shape the future together?
As some countries wait and debate, the UAE is moving ahead. This could give it a strong advantage in solving modern problems quickly and effectively. The goal is not to replace human leaders but to help them make better, faster, and more thoughtful choices.
