The centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the UAE, Malaysia, and Rwanda have entered into a partnership agreement aimed at enhancing international collaboration in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and establishing ethical standards for its usage, as well as leveraging its applications for the benefit of individuals and communities globally.
This partnership between the Fourth Industrial Revolution centers, integrated within the World Economic Forum network, emphasizes the promotion of ethical and impactful AI applications across various development pathways and key future sectors. This will be achieved through talent exchange, joint initiatives, and coordination in designing responsible governance frameworks for AI applications.
The partnership agreement was signed in the presence of Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Digitalization in Malaysia.
This agreement follows the announcement made during the 54th World Economic Forum (Davos 2024) of a partnership between the Fourth Industrial Revolution centers in the UAE and Rwanda, aimed at implementing a knowledge exchange program in the AI sector to achieve its future goals. The focus will primarily be on fostering collaboration among leaders, innovators, and experts in AI worldwide to harness its promising potential for driving global advancement.
Gobind Singh Deo expressed Malaysia’s pride in collaborating with the UAE and Rwanda in this ambitious initiative, which aims to bridge the global expertise gap in AI and accelerate digital transformation for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
He added that this cooperation reflects the shared goal of an innovation-led future in AI, expressing hope that the AI fellowship program under the Fourth Industrial Revolution centers’ network will foster knowledge sharing, experience exchange, and collaborative innovations to tackle significant challenges and leverage AI’s vast capabilities for the benefit of our nations and the global community.
Khalfan Jumaa Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, which oversees the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center in the UAE, confirmed that capitalizing on future opportunities in AI requires aligning visions and coordinating efforts to benefit from emerging technologies and digital innovations in developing services and all future sectors, ensuring a positive impact is one of the fundamental pillars upon which the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center in the UAE is established.
He further mentioned that these strategic partnerships contribute to the accelerated adoption of positive uses and beneficial applications of the latest technologies, such as AI and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, promoting sustainable and inclusive future development rooted in technology, innovation, knowledge sharing, and successful models.
Eitug Goxu, Head of Communications and Government Relations at the World Economic Forum’s Fourth Industrial Revolution centers, noted that this partnership is a significant achievement in the shared journey of harnessing the transformative power of AI. It brings together the experiences and common visions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution centers in the UAE, Rwanda, and Malaysia to foster connections within a global community of AI experts committed to advancing inclusive and sustainable progress.
Crystal Rugejyi, Director of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center in Rwanda, welcomed the opportunity to engage in this global collaboration, which supports various national initiatives including the “AI Innovation Lab” and the “Global AI Summit in Africa,” while enhancing collective capabilities to support advanced research, knowledge transfer, and capacity building.
She reiterated the commitment to promoting responsible AI governance and accelerating its practical adoption, enabling the global AI ecosystem to fully exploit opportunities for achieving sustainable and inclusive development.
It’s worth noting that the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center in the UAE, launched in 2019 as part of the strategic cooperation between the UAE government and the World Economic Forum, is overseen by Dubai Future Foundation and focuses on studying the fundamental changes occurring in economies, societies, and global policies to unify visions and coordinate efforts for harnessing emerging technologies and digital transactions in service development and exploring promising opportunities in all future sectors.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution centers associated with the World Economic Forum serve as a pivotal global network to enhance dialogue among partners and diverse stakeholders, facilitating cooperation to address governance challenges and activating opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution across various sectors of global relevance.