American tech giant Microsoft says it will open a foundation to promote “responsible” artificial intelligence (AI) in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi.
The foundation, in partnership with Emirati AI developer G42 and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), “aims to promote responsible AI standards and best practices in the Middle East and Global South”, Microsoft said ahead of an AI summit in Paris this week.
Microsoft said in April 2024 that it would invest $1.5 billion (NZ$2.65b) into G42, which is controlled by Tahnoon bin Zayed, brother of the Emirati president and the country’s national security advisor.
Meanwhile, MBZUAI has taken in a role in several initiatives launched around the Paris AI summit, which will gather political and tech business leaders as well as experts on Monday and Tuesday in the French capital.
The UAE is pushing for a leading role in the emergence of AI with multiple collaborations including in France.