UAE companies believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can help them navigate the current economic uncertainty.
According to a recent study, 98 percent of business decision makers in the UAE believe that AI can serve as a significant enabler for enhancing resilience in challenging economic conditions.
The study conducted by Dataiku, revealed that this belief in AI’s potential translated into concrete actions, with nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of companies either maintaining or increasing their investment in AI programmes in recent months. Furthermore, approximately 68 percent of UAE organisations are allocating up to 50 percent of their technology budget to AI initiatives. These organisations have also established formalised plans with specific business goals to be achieved over the next five years.
While the UAE shared the same top priority as the overall EMEA region, which is innovation (selected by 64 percent of UAE organisations as a five-year business goal), it diverged from its regional counterparts in terms of the second and third priorities. While EMEA businesses focused on cost reductions and increased revenue, UAE companies emphasised competitive advantage (56 percent) and improved customer experience (54 percent) as their primary areas of concentration. This indicates a higher level of maturity in the UAE’s AI market.
“Interestingly, at a time when we see unprecedented media buzz around large-language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s revamped Bing, we asked companies in the UAE if they had invested in data science platforms to build and maintain AI models over the past five years. They all said ‘yes’. That’s 100% of companies saying they have taken the AI plunge,” says Sid Bhatia, Regional Vice President and General Manager for the Middle East and Turkey, Dataiku.
“This is great news, but we now know that to truly harness the value of AI and achieve business goals, we cannot leave progress solely in the hands of data scientists and backroom technologists. We need to fully democratise AI. The wide availability of platforms like ChatGPT and Bard serves as a great example of what that can look like. We must now apply these principles to all established AI platforms and usher in an inclusive era for these technologies — the Age of Everyday AI.”
Delving deeper into the study’s findings, it revealed a significant area for improvement in the optimisation of AI practices within UAE organisations. The data indicated that while an overwhelming majority (94 percent) of data science and technology specialists in the UAE possess the ability to utilise data and AI effectively to contribute to their organisation’s business objectives, the same cannot be said for business users. Only 42 percent of business users currently have full access to the necessary data they require.
However, the study also highlighted a positive trend, with 92 percent of UAE respondents indicating their utilisation of low-code or no-code development platforms. These platforms aim to enhance accessibility to AI for business users, facilitating the automation and improvement of daily decision-making processes. Ultimately, this cultivates an Everyday AI culture within organisations, where AI is readily integrated into routine operations, according to the report.
