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Dubai AI Week 2025 to Host World’s Largest Generative AI Championship with $272K Prize

Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
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Dubai AI Week 2025 to Host World’s Largest Generative AI Championship with $272K Prize

Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)

Dubai is set to unite the global AI ecosystem and advance its future-readiness during a bold exploration of how artificial intelligence is reshaping our world at Dubai AI Week, taking place April 21 to 25.

The inaugural event will bring together over 10,000 participants, AI pioneers and policymakers from 100 countries to explore AI’s transformative role in business, governance, and society.

Featuring global championships, high-level summits, hackathons and an expo zone, the Week will set the stage for the future of global AI innovation.

With collaboration being integral to the success of the global AI landscape, the event joins forces with key government entities, global tech organisations and industry pioneers including Meta, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Gartner, OpenAI, Swift, Nvidia, Palantir, Cohere, and ElevenLabs.

The week opens with the AI Retreat on April 21, a closed-door gathering of global AI leaders, policymakers, and industry experts focusing on shaping AI strategies and governance frameworks.

The Dubai Assembly for AI takes place on April 21–24, where global policymakers, CEOs, and academics will shape AI’s evolving role in economies and societies.

The Global Prompt Engineering Championship will bring together leading AI practitioners to compete for a $272,000 prize pool during two days of challenges on April 22–23. Finalists will go head-to-head in four categories: Art, Video, Gaming, and Coding, showcasing their expertise in AI-driven content creation.

Advancing AI policy and governance, the Machines Can See Summit on April 23–24 will convene over 1000 participants, 20 keynotes, and expert-led discussions under the theme ‘Good AI: Making the World a Safer Place’. It will be one of the region’s most influential AI policy and ethics forums.

The Dubai AI Festival 2025 on April 23–24 will bring together 5,000 attendees, 500 investors, and 100 exhibitors under the theme ‘Enabling Digital Economies’. The festival will connect AI leaders, investors, and decision-makers to drive AI-powered transformations across industries, fostering collaboration, investment, and the unveiling of pioneering AI projects that will redefine the digital economy.

Beyond industry discussions and competitions, the Week will also focus on advancing AI literacy among students and educators through the AI Week in Schools, running April 21–25. The initiative, taking place across schools in Dubai, aims to equip future generations with fundamental AI skills.

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Italy Watchdog Orders Meta to Halt WhatsApp Terms Barring Rival AI Chatbots

The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Italy Watchdog Orders Meta to Halt WhatsApp Terms Barring Rival AI Chatbots

The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms to suspend contractual terms ​that could shut rival AI chatbots out of WhatsApp, as it investigates the US tech group for suspected abuse of a dominant position.

A spokesperson for Meta called the decision "fundamentally flawed," and said the emergence of AI chatbots "put a strain on our systems that ‌they were ‌not designed to support".

"We ‌will ⁠appeal," ​the ‌spokesperson added.

The move is the latest in a string by European regulators against Big Tech firms, as the EU seeks to balance support for the sector with efforts to curb its expanding influence.

Meta's conduct appeared capable of restricting "output, market ⁠access or technical development in the AI chatbot services market", ‌potentially harming consumers, AGCM ‍said.

In July, the ‍Italian regulator opened the investigation into Meta over ‍the suspected abuse of a dominant position related to WhatsApp. It widened the probe in November to cover updated terms for the messaging app's business ​platform.

"These contractual conditions completely exclude Meta AI's competitors in the AI chatbot services ⁠market from the WhatsApp platform," the watchdog said.

EU antitrust regulators launched a parallel investigation into Meta last month over the same allegations.

Europe's tough stance - a marked contrast to more lenient US regulation - has sparked industry pushback, particularly by US tech titans, and led to criticism from the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The Italian watchdog said it was coordinating with the European ‌Commission to ensure Meta's conduct was addressed "in the most effective manner".

Technology

Amazon Says Blocked 1,800 North Koreans from Applying for Jobs

Amazon logo (Reuters)
Amazon logo (Reuters)
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Amazon Says Blocked 1,800 North Koreans from Applying for Jobs

Amazon logo (Reuters)
Amazon logo (Reuters)

US tech giant Amazon said it has blocked over 1,800 North Koreans from joining the company, as Pyongyang sends large numbers of IT workers overseas to earn and launder funds.

In a post on LinkedIn, Amazon's Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt said last week that North Korean workers had been "attempting to secure remote IT jobs with companies worldwide, particularly in the US".

He said the firm had seen nearly a one-third rise in applications by North Koreans in the past year, reported AFP.

The North Koreans typically use "laptop farms" -- a computer in the United States operated remotely from outside the country, he said.

He warned the problem wasn't specific to Amazon and "is likely happening at scale across the industry".

Tell-tale signs of North Korean workers, Schmidt said, included wrongly formatted phone numbers and dodgy academic credentials.

In July, a woman in Arizona was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for running a laptop farm helping North Korean IT workers secure remote jobs at more than 300 US companies.

The scheme generated more than $17 million in revenue for her and North Korea, officials said.

Last year, Seoul's intelligence agency warned that North Korean operatives had used LinkedIn to pose as recruiters and approach South Koreans working at defense firms to obtain information on their technologies.

"North Korea is actively training cyber personnel and infiltrating key locations worldwide," Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

"Given Amazon's business nature, the motive seems largely economic, with a high likelihood that the operation was planned to steal financial assets," he added.

North Korea's cyber-warfare program dates back to at least the mid-1990s.

It has since grown into a 6,000-strong cyber unit known as Bureau 121, which operates from several countries, according to a 2020 US military report.

In November, Washington announced sanctions on eight individuals accused of being "state-sponsored hackers", whose illicit operations were conducted "to fund the regime's nuclear weapons program" by stealing and laundering money.

The US Department of the Treasury has accused North Korea-affiliated cybercriminals of stealing over $3 billion over the past three years, primarily in cryptocurrency.

Technology

KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
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KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and SARsatX, a Saudi company specializing in Earth observation technologies, have developed computer-generated data to train deep learning models to predict oil spills.

According to KAUST, validating the use of synthetic data is crucial for monitoring environmental disasters, as early detection and rapid response can significantly reduce the risks of environmental damage.

Dean of the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division at KAUST Dr. Matthew McCabe noted that one of the biggest challenges in environmental applications of artificial intelligence is the shortage of high-quality training data.

He explained that this challenge can be addressed by using deep learning to generate synthetic data from a very small sample of real data and then training predictive AI models on it.

This approach can significantly enhance efforts to protect the marine environment by enabling faster and more reliable monitoring of oil spills while reducing the logistical and environmental challenges associated with data collection.