Author: Art Ryan

The Council of Europe and Microsoft have signed a new cooperation agreement covering artificial intelligence, digital governance and responsible technology. This brings one of the world’s biggest technology companies closer to a European institution focused on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The agreement was signed in Strasbourg by Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. Rather than announcing a new AI product or government deployment, the agreement establishes a framework for the two organisations to explore areas of cooperation. Additionally, they can exchange expertise. The timing is significant. AI…

OrbitronAI and Aramco Digital are joining forces to push agentic AI deeper into industrial operations, targeting what the companies describe as multibillion-dollar opportunities across capital productivity, supply chains and operational execution. The partnership was announced at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh and combines OrbitronAI’s industrial AI technology with Aramco Digital’s industrial expertise and technology infrastructure. The ambition is much bigger than putting an AI chatbot in front of employees. The companies want AI agents to work across complicated industrial processes, helping organisations deal with large volumes of data, coordinate workflows and make operational decisions faster. OrbitronAI and Aramco Digital See a…

Artificial intelligence is moving beyond software and into the physical world, workplaces and classrooms. That shift was a major theme at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, where global technology leaders, policymakers, researchers and businesses discussed the next phase of AI development. Robotics, humanoid machines, workforce training and education all featured heavily as the event looked at what it will take to build an AI economy beyond the current generation of generative AI tools. The event brought together more than 400 enterprises and startups, 180 speakers and thousands of technology, government and business executives from more than 105 countries, according to…

The newly introduced Abu Dhabi AiNative AI training programme aims to boost the skills of government employees, department leaders, citizens and residents. Abu Dhabi has launched AiNative, a new artificial intelligence training programme aimed at government employees, department leaders, citizens and residents. The initiative was announced on October 7 at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi by the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi (DGE). Developed with OpenAI, Microsoft and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the programme is designed to build practical AI skills across government and the wider community. The first major target is clear: 20,000 Abu…

Artificial intelligence is moving deeper into the business and government systems of the UAE, and Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 put that shift on display. Held at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi on October 6 and 7, the event brought together AI companies, investors, government leaders, infrastructure providers and startups from around the world. The focus was less on flashy demonstrations and more on what happens when AI gets deployed inside real organisations. The event brought together more than 400 AI infrastructure builders, model makers, unicorns and startups, along with more than 200 investors managing $91 billion in assets. More than…

Dubai is putting serious money behind its push into agentic artificial intelligence. The city is launching a new global competition that gives developers, entrepreneurs and innovators a chance to build AI agents for real-world problems. The Create AI Agents Championship, announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, carries a prize and grant pool worth more than AED2.5 million ($680,000). The programme replaces the previous Create Apps Championship. Now, the focus shifts from conventional applications to AI agents capable of performing tasks and supporting users with greater autonomy. For Dubai, the change reflects where…

The Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK) has launched the Sharjah Advanced AI Industrial Accelerator, creating a new platform for AI companies looking to move their technologies from research and prototypes into real industrial environments. The programme was unveiled during AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 and is designed around industrial applications of artificial intelligence. Rather than focusing only on startup development, SPARK wants participating companies to work with laboratories, industrial partners, investors and potential customers as they develop and commercialise their technologies. The accelerator will target companies from the UAE, the wider region and international markets, with priority areas…

Cookpad (AI Labs) has been nominated for the 2026 World AI Awards in the Culinary Creativity and Concepting category, recognising its work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, recipe development and everyday home cooking. The nomination puts the spotlight on a slightly different side of generative AI. Cookpad is not positioning artificial intelligence as a substitute for the person standing at the stove. Its recent tools focus on the messy part that comes before a recipe becomes useful to somebody else: remembering quantities, organising ingredients, explaining what happened in the pan and turning an idea into instructions another cook can…

Climax Foods, now operating as Bettani Farms, has been nominated for the 2026 World AI Awards in the Culinary Creativity and Concepting category, recognising its use of artificial intelligence and data science to rethink how plant-based foods can be formulated. The Berkeley food technology company has focused much of its research on a stubborn culinary problem: cheese. Reproducing the melt, stretch, texture and protein content of dairy cheese with plants has proved difficult, particularly without relying heavily on starches, oils or common allergens. Climax Foods approached the problem differently. Instead of asking AI to generate recipes on a screen, its…

Pakistan is putting its artificial intelligence industry in front of a global audience at AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, with five Pakistani technology companies showcasing AI products and digital services in the UAE capital. The companies are exhibiting through the Pakistan Pavilion, established under the Pakistan Software Export Board. Their presence spans areas such as AI-powered data intelligence, surveillance technology, sales solutions and sovereign AI. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE, Shafqat Ali Khan, inaugurated the pavilion as local technology firms look for customers, investors and new commercial partnerships across the Gulf. The timing is significant. Pakistan’s IT exports to the…

A billion-dollar company may eventually need only one human employee. That is the possibility raised by Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, as he argued that AI agents could dramatically increase what a single person can build, operate and sell. Speaking at AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, Al Olama said increasingly capable AI agents could multiply an individual’s skills and productivity to the point where businesses worth tens of millions — or potentially billions — could operate with one person supported by autonomous digital workers. The idea sounds extreme,…

Awqaf Abu Dhabi has introduced its first photoreal AI agent at AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, bringing conversational artificial intelligence into government services linked to endowments and the financial affairs of minors. The Endowments and Minors’ Funds Authority unveiled the system during the event at ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi. Awqaf says the AI agent is designed to act as a central digital interface where users can access services through voice or text, with multilingual support intended to make government interactions easier for a wider range of users. The launch fits into a much broader digital transformation effort. Awqaf Abu…

The Ajman Department of Finance is using AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 to show how artificial intelligence can support government financial operations in a practical way. At the centre of its showcase is the department’s Smart Financial Advisor, an AI-powered platform designed to help government employees and financial specialists find legislation, financial information and related documents more quickly. The department’s message is straightforward. AI does not have to begin with sweeping automation. Sometimes the more useful application is making difficult information easier to access and helping employees work faster. Smart Financial Advisor Takes Centre Stage The Smart Financial Advisor is…

Dubai is moving agentic AI deeper into government operations. The Dubai Future Foundation has launched the Agentic AI for Government Services Accelerator, a new programme designed to help Dubai Government entities identify, test and develop public services powered by autonomous AI systems. The initiative brings together the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Dubai and the Dubai Electronic Security Centre. Its first phase will involve 33 Dubai Government entities and examine more than 300 public-facing use cases to identify where agentic AI could have the strongest practical impact. The programme is not simply about adding another chatbot to government websites.…

The UK government is backing a major overhaul of how artificial intelligence is regulated in healthcare, accepting all 44 recommendations from the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare. This includes significant changes proposed for UK AI-enabled medical device regulation. The blueprint calls for AI-enabled medical devices to be monitored throughout their lifecycle rather than judged mainly at the point of approval. That matters because AI systems can change, receive updates and perform differently across hospitals, patient groups and real-world clinical settings. The government’s decision signals a broader shift in how the UK plans to manage healthcare AI.…

Anthropic is widening access to some of its most capable Claude models for cybersecurity work, giving more vetted security teams a way to use advanced AI tools with fewer restrictions. This expansion comes as part of the Anthropic Cyber Verification Program, which supports trusted professionals in their security efforts. The company announced an expanded Cyber Verification Program, bringing several earlier initiatives under one structure. The goal is to give legitimate defenders stronger AI capabilities without making those same capabilities broadly available to anyone who wants them. That balance is getting harder to manage. The same model that helps a security…

Precisely has launched AI Studio, a new collection of AI applications, agents and reusable skills designed to help enterprise developers move faster from experimentation into working AI deployments. The new offering sits inside the broader Precisely Platform and is designed to work with major AI environments including ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot. Rather than starting with a blank development environment, users can explore prebuilt examples that show how trusted enterprise data can be connected to generative AI systems and autonomous agents. The idea is straightforward. Enterprises already have access to increasingly powerful models. The harder part is often making sure…

Napster and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN are teaming up on Arabic-native AI agents, targeting government agencies and businesses across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. The partnership combines HUMAIN’s Arabic AI stack with Napster’s embodied, multimodal agent technology. The aim is to build digital employees that do not treat Arabic as a translated layer sitting on top of an English-first AI system. Instead, Arabic is being positioned much closer to the foundation of the experience. Arabic Comes First, Rather Than Being Added Later Arabic support has improved rapidly across major AI platforms, but Napster and HUMAIN are taking a different…

Web Summit is bringing a major group of Chinese AI and robotics companies to Lisbon this November, announcing the first 30 speakers in what organisers say will be the opening wave of a much larger Chinese technology presence at Web Summit 2026. The initial lineup reaches across artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, quantum computing and technology policy. Companies and projects including GLM, MiMo, Manus, AgiBot and Galbot are part of the announcement, putting some of China’s increasingly influential technology builders directly in front of a European audience. The timing makes this particularly interesting. Chinese AI models have moved quickly into…

ING Group has been nominated for the 2026 World AI Awards in the Algorithmic Trading category, recognising the Dutch banking group’s work in machine-learning-powered trading, electronic execution and AI-assisted pricing across financial markets. Algorithmic trading at ING is not a new experiment dressed up with a generative AI label. The bank has spent years applying predictive analytics and machine learning to fixed income and foreign exchange, where milliseconds matter, prices shift constantly and traders have to process more market information than any individual can realistically absorb. The World AI Awards recognises organisations, individuals, products and technologies contributing to the development…