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)
TT
20

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.



Europe Wants to Lighten AI Compliance Burden for Startups

Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Europe Wants to Lighten AI Compliance Burden for Startups

Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)

The European Commission plans to seek feedback to help lighten the regulatory burden for startups struggling to comply with European Union rules on the use of artificial intelligence, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters.

The move is the latest by the EU executive to water down legislation enacted in recent years following complaints by businesses across Europe about the volume and cost of red tape hampering their operations.

"There is an opportunity to minimize the potential compliance burden of AI Act, particularly for smaller innovators," said the document, the AI Continent Action Plan.

"The Commission aims to build on the first learnings from the current implementation phase and identify further measures that are needed to facilitate a smooth and simple application of the AI Act," it said.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present the measure on Wednesday.

The 27-country European Union signed off the landmark AI Act last year, a more comprehensive rulebook than the United States' light-touch voluntary compliance approach. China's AI regulations aim to maintain social stability and state control.

The AI Act imposes strict transparency obligations on high-risk AI systems, while the requirements for general-purpose AI models are lighter.