Abu Dhabi’s Supreme authority for artificial intelligence met Tuesday to review plans to put AI at the centre of government, investment and research across the emirate. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, National Security Adviser and Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council, chaired the meeting alongside Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Vice Chairman of the council.
The council does more than advise: it sets policies, strategies and priorities for AI and advanced technology projects, investment and research. Its agenda included the UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi, AI research, specialised talent, open AI models and the government’s target of becoming the world’s first fully AI-native administration by 2027. A small, named circle of senior officials decides the direction of the technology.
Government at the centre
Sheikh Tahnoon said Abu Dhabi’s ambition goes beyond adopting AI; it includes developing the underlying technology and shaping the economy around it. He stressed directing investment, research and international partnerships toward a lasting scientific and technological base, saying this could enable people and institutions to establish new industries and develop a model of government with AI at its core.
That’s the council’s stated vision: technology, economic development and government designed together. The account doesn’t explain how residents will help set those priorities, what oversight will apply to the administration’s AI systems, or how people can challenge decisions made with those systems. It gives no examples of public consultation or independent review. The stated aim is clear; those details aren’t provided.
The military track
The same report sets civilian administration alongside military applications. In July, the UAE and the United States agreed to create a bilateral task force to speed up the development of AI tools for military purposes. Task Force Talon Synapse will operate in Abu Dhabi, with about 20 US and Emirati personnel specialising in AI, data and cybersecurity.
The council reviewed government uses and research; the separate task force focuses on military tools. Both initiatives put public authority and state institutions at the centre of AI development, though the article gives no details about the tools, their intended use or safeguards. The stated military purpose is the bluntest description of where this technology may be directed.
The meeting account names no grassroots technology groups, mutual-aid networks, human rights organisations or independent bodies involved in setting the agenda. It also provides no information about who funds the UAE-US AI Campus, what public oversight it will face or how its work connects to the military task force. Those absences shouldn’t be filled with guesses. The facts here show a council setting priorities and a bilateral state task force developing military AI; the public’s role, if any, remains unspecified.