According to a recent study from Dataiku, the platform for Everyday AI, almost all UAE organizations feel artificial intelligence (AI) may help them weather the current economic instability, but access barriers between technical and business users must be addressed.
According to the study, which polled 700 IT decision-makers in five EMEA nations, including the UAE, 98 percent of business decision-makers there view AI as a key enabler when searching for ways to be more resilient in the face of the present economic climate. According to the survey, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of businesses have recently maintained or increased their investment in AI programs, demonstrating that this belief is shared by the general public. Over two-thirds (68%) of UAE organizations are investing up to 50% of their tech budget in AI, and they have formal strategies in place that are based on clear business objectives that will be accomplished over the course of the next five years.
The UAE varied from its regional counterparts on the second and third-ranked goals, although being in line with the broader EMEA region on the top priority, innovation (64 percent of UAE organizations identified this as a five-year business aim). Businesses in the UAE stated that they will focus on competitive advantage (56 percent) and improved customer experience (54 percent) while the EMEA as a whole was fixated on cost savings and greater revenue. This is a clear indication of the level of market maturity of the UAE AI market.
As the first nation to nominate a minister of state to oversee AI development, the UAE has a rich history with the technology, according to Sid Bhatia, regional vice-president and general manager for the Middle East and Turkey at Dataiku. “Once again, the report demonstrates that organizations in this region have a solid understanding of the underlying principles of Everyday AI, as demonstrated by the fact that they prioritize competitive advantage and enhanced customer experiences rather than attempting to skip to the conclusion of the narrative with financial objectives like expenses and revenue. We have observed that focusing on the basics naturally leads to an AI future in which revenues are increased and costs are decreased.
According to the data, while almost all (94 percent) UAE data science and technology specialists can use data and AI to help their organizations achieve their business goals, only 42% of business users have complete access to the data they require. However, 92 percent of respondents from the UAE claimed they were utilizing low-code or no-code development platforms to increase business users’ access to AI and assist in automating and improving daily decision-making procedures to foster an Everyday AI culture.
“Interestingly,” continued Bhatia, “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, 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. They all answered “Yes.” That means that 100% of businesses claim to have embraced AI. This is fantastic news, but we now realize that advancement cannot be completely dependent on data scientists and back-office specialists if we are to fully realize AI’s potential and accomplish business objectives. AI must be completely democratized. A wonderful illustration of that is the widespread accessibility of platforms like ChatGPT and Bard. The Age of Everyday AI must now be formed for these technologies by applying these concepts to all current AI platforms.
