Dubai's World Government Summit to Focus on AI

Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Foundation Mohammad al-Gergawi during the press conference. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Foundation Mohammad al-Gergawi during the press conference. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Dubai's World Government Summit to Focus on AI

Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Foundation Mohammad al-Gergawi during the press conference. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Foundation Mohammad al-Gergawi during the press conference. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The World Government Summit, set to begin on Feb. 12 in Dubai, will focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

This year's edition will discuss six main topics and 15 forums discussing future trends and transformations. It will feature over 110 interactive dialogues.

Themed Shaping Future Governments, the Summit brings together thought leaders, experts, and decision-makers from around the world.

More than 4,000 participants from the public and private sectors will participate in 110 interactive sessions. They 200 speakers from 80 international, regional, and intergovernmental organizations, including the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Arab League, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed al-Gergawi said the new World Government Summit 2024 session brings together heads of state and governments, ministers, and heads of international organizations.

Gergawi stated during a press conference on Tuesday that the World Government Summit also hosts global leaders from the private sector, including CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman, CEO of Airbus Guillaume Faury, founder and CEO of NVIDIA Jensen Huang, co-and founder of Schmidt Futures and former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt.

He stated that the World Government Summit and an elite group of partners will launch a series of 25 strategic reports focusing on the most important practices and trends in vital sectors.

Ministerial meetings

The Summit hosts 15 global forums focusing on developing strategies and plans in the most vital sectors.

It is being organized in partnership with several international organizations and global technological institutions, in addition to institutions concerned with innovating new solutions to human societies' challenges.

The World Government Summit 2024 will continue its various dialogues through the Artificial Intelligence Forum, the Future of Work Forum, the Emerging Economies Forum, the Geotechnology Governance Forum, the Sustainable Development Goals Forum, the Arab Meeting for Young Leaders, and the Time 100 gala.

The Summit also hosts discussions and dialogues to anticipate the formation of future governments. They include round table meetings that bring together leaders of countries, global officials, international organizations, thought leaders, and the private sector.

The meetings aim to strengthen international cooperation, identify innovative solutions to future challenges, anticipate the most prominent opportunities, and inspire successive generations.

Arab finance ministers will also hold a meeting at the Summit, labor ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will hold consultative meetings, and the energy minister will discuss the future of hydrogen energy.

Six themes

The Summit will focus on six main themes, including enhancing the pace of growth and change for effective governments, artificial intelligence, and new future horizons, and the new vision for development and coming economies.

The themes will also address the future of education, and the aspirations of tomorrow's societies, sustainability, and new global transformations, urban expansion and priorities, and global health.

Enhancing the pace of growth and change for effective governments is gaining traction at a time when global governments have accelerated their transformative digital initiatives and their reliance on technology in various fields.

It contributed to developing a system of new opportunities and many challenges.

Future policies should contribute to addressing the digital divide and ensure no one is left behind in the face of accelerating global changes.

The theme of artificial intelligence and new future horizons will focus on regulating this technology, designing it ethically, and identifying emerging trends.



Japan's Tech Business SoftBank Rolls Out OpenAI 'Patches' Against Cyberattacks

SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during an event to pitch AI for businesses, in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Manami Yamada
SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during an event to pitch AI for businesses, in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Manami Yamada
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Japan's Tech Business SoftBank Rolls Out OpenAI 'Patches' Against Cyberattacks

SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during an event to pitch AI for businesses, in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Manami Yamada
SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during an event to pitch AI for businesses, in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Manami Yamada

Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group Corp. is launching a service using OpenAI technology to protect against the looming threat of cyberattacks, both companies said Tuesday.

Chief Executive Masayoshi Son called Japan’ s vulnerability to cyberattacks “a crisis,” comparing it to a potential assault by machine guns instead of the rifle shots of the past.

SoftBank will offer “a patching service,” targeting the nation’s top 3,000 companies behind crucial infrastructure like airports, power systems and transportation, The Associated Press quoted Son as saying.

“I feel it is our duty,” Son said, repeatedly referring to the criminal attackers as “the bad guys.”

The service involves first diagnosing any weaknesses to attacks, and then analyzing what needs to be done to patch up such “holes," Son said.

Sam Altman, chief of OpenAI, was scheduled to attend the launch, but instead appeared only in a short video. He said he couldn’t make it because his baby daughter was born earlier than expected. Mark Chen, OpenAI’s chief researcher, was present in his place.

SoftBank and OpenAI, behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, set up a 50:50 joint venture named SB OAI Japan last year to develop and exclusively market an AI service for the Japanese market.

Tuesday’s announcement was a key update, highlighting the rollout. No monetary value was announced. But SoftBank said everyone who came to the presentation in Tokyo Tuesday can apply for a free diagnosis.

The use of AI has caused the number of attacks to balloon exponentially and grow more complex, meaning defenses have had to become more AI-savvy and versatile.


France to Invest €655 Mln in AI, Set Up Common Chatbot for All State Services

France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gestures as he speaks during a press conference. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gestures as he speaks during a press conference. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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France to Invest €655 Mln in AI, Set Up Common Chatbot for All State Services

France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gestures as he speaks during a press conference. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gestures as he speaks during a press conference. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday the government will invest €655 million ($758.29 million) in artificial intelligence and will set up a common chatbot for all the state services.

The French government will create a public ⁠health chatbot for state-owned ⁠health insurance Ameli agency.

"We can either be ⁠subjected to this (Artificial intelligence) revolution, or we can lead it," he said in a post on X.

"The question is not whether the state will use the artificial intelligence anymore, but the question is how fast will it ⁠transform," ⁠Lecornu said.

"We cannot rely on tools developed by foreign powers. France must have its own tools," he said.

He made the announcement as the "Viva Tech" conference was set to start in Paris.


AI-referred US Shoppers Browse Longer, Spend More per Visit, Data Shows

 The ChatGPT logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
The ChatGPT logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
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AI-referred US Shoppers Browse Longer, Spend More per Visit, Data Shows

 The ChatGPT logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
The ChatGPT logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026. (EPA)

US shoppers who use large language models, including Google's Gemini or OpenAI's ChatGPT, for purchase recommendations are lingering more on retailers' websites and are more likely to spend, according to May data from Adobe Analytics.

Consumers who are referred to retail websites from LLMs generated ‌53% more ‌revenue per visit than ‌shoppers ⁠from non-AI sources, the ⁠data firm said, emphasizing the need for brands to invest in AI-readable webpages.

Retailers whose products show up in LLM suggestions are able to "drive more personalization" to ⁠shoppers who leave the platforms to ‌complete their ‌purchases on the native websites, Vivek Pandya, ‌director of digital insights at ‌Adobe, said.

AI traffic to retail websites increased 138% in May from last year, the highest share of ‌total retail visits since Adobe Analytics began tracking in October 2024.

⁠Retail ⁠website visitors recommended by AI converted at a rate 54% higher than online shoppers from non-AI sources did in May.

Shoppers referred to e-commerce websites spent 53% more time on the sites than visitors from other sources.

AI-referred shoppers also visit more retail webpages than non-AI referred visitors.