Four new research centres for NYU AD; UAE positive about AI for ESG
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
A little quieter news-wise, as is sometimes the case during Ramadan. However, some interesting stories below.
Great R&D news from Abu Dhabi, as NYU Abu Dhabi opens four new research centres - including a new centre for AI and robotics.
Meanwhile, Oracle revealed the results of a global survey on public sentiment towards technology and ESG this week. According to the resuts, the UAE appears markedly more positive about the role of AI in ESG than the global average. See my Linkedin post for some highlights.
Scroll down for these stories and more!
Stay safe and have a great day!
/Carrington
R&D
NYU Abu Dhabi launches four new research centres — nyuad.nyu.edu
#UAE #R&D - The Research Institute of New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has announced four new research centres, which will support global efforts to provide solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. The new R&D facilities include a centre for AI and robotics and a centre for quantum computing. (NYU AD)
AI Adoption
Majority in the UAE say bots will succeed in where humans fail in corporate sustainability — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #ESG - UAE respondents to a new Oracle survey appear to be supremely confident in the ability of AI to help businesses achieve Environmental, Social, and Governance goals. 61% of those surveyed globally believe AI will succeed in making the difference in ESG where humans have failed. However, this rises to 74% in the UAE. (The National)
Startups
KAUST Fund to invest in new high-tech firms — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #funding - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) innovation fund to invest in high-tech firms in seed stages. The idea is to allocate up to $200,000 as venture capital in seed-level high-tech businesses, and to invest up to $2 million in early stage businesses. (Arab News)
Smart Cities
Riyadh airport launches notification service in sign language — www.arabnews.com
#UAE #smartairports - Riyadh Airports Co., in charge of running and operating King Khalid International Airport, has announced the launch of a flight notifications service in sign language. KAIA is now the world’s first airport to do so. (Arab News)
Robots to help Muslim pilgrims at holy sites in Mecca and Medina — www.al-monitor.com
#Saudi #pilgrimage - The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has announced a new fleet of robots to assist female worshippers. The robots will explain prayer rituals and Islamic declarations of the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina in Saudi Arabia. (Al Monitor)
Smart Grid
DEWA implements Smart Grid Strategy — mediaoffice.ae
#UAE #smartgrid - Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) confirmed that it is implementing its updated Smart Grid Strategy 2021-2035, according to announcement made today. DEWA's Smart Grid provides interoperability and advanced features across Dubai's entire electricity network. (Dubai Media Office)
Cloud
Microsoft Azure UAE Regions launches four new Cloud services — www.tahawultech.com
#UAE #cloud - Microsoft has introduced Azure Purview, Azure Arc enabled servers, Azure Communication Services, and Azure Machine Learning to its Azure UAE cloud regions. The company opened Abu Dhabi and Dubai cloud data centre regions in 2019 its first in the Middle East. (Tahawultech)
Healthcare
Bahrain to set up first robotic surgery centre at hitech medical city — www.gdnonline.com
#Bahrain #roboticsurgery - Bahrain's first robotic surgery centre will be set up in a million square metre facility at the King Abdullah Medical City. The new hitech university-hospital is set to open next year. (Trade Arabia)
Robotics
Kuwait, UAE and Oman qualify for the Underwater Robotic Competition in America — www.zawya.com
#UAE #US #robotics - Teams from Kuwait, Oman and the UAE have qualified for the finals of Underwater Robotic Competition to be held at the University of Maryland, from 4-5 June, following the results of the SeaPerch Challenge West Asia, which was held in Sharjah. (Zawya)
Drones
Services company OWWSC uses drones to detect leaks in water networks — timesofoman.com
#Oman #drone - Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company (OWWSC) has used drone technology to detect leaks in water networks. The company now uses drones equipped with thermal cameras and multispectral cameras to detect invisible leaks in water networks. (Times of Oman)
AI Diplomacy
WEF selects Omar Al Olama for membership of YGLs Forum 2022 — www.wam.ae
#UAE #WEF - The World Economic Forum (WEF) has chosen Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications, for the membership of the Young Global Leaders community (YGLs) 2022. (Emirates News Agency)
Podcast
How can MENA build a deeptech ecosystem? — www.wamda.com
#MENA #deeptech - Now on his third venture, Zir AI, Egyptian born computer scientist and entrepreneur Amr Awadallah is hoping to revolutionise the way we search online. In this podcast, Awadallah talks about his entrepreneurial journey, the key ingredients of a startup ecosystem and why paying it forward is so important. (Wamda)
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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.