Author: Art Ryan

Artificial intelligence is moving deeper into the UAE legal sector. This time, it is not about testing another chatbot. Law firms are starting to use AI as part of everyday legal work. The technology can review contracts, search old case files, and flag potential legal risks. It can also help lawyers work across the UAE’s complex regulatory landscape. The shift has happened quickly. Dmitry Grinik, founder and CEO of Legaline Platform, says AI adoption has changed over the past three to six months. Many UAE law firms and consulting practices are moving from experiments to operational use. AI in UAE…

Saudi Arabia wants Riyadh to compete with the world’s biggest technology hubs. Its latest move puts artificial intelligence right at the center of that plan. The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has launched the Riyadh Digital Innovation District. The project aims to attract global technology companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and specialist talent. AI will be one of its biggest priorities. Cybersecurity, cloud computing, blockchain, robotics, drones, and the Internet of Things will also have a place in the district. The ambition isn’t modest. Riyadh wants to become one of the world’s top 10 technology hubs. Riyadh Wants a Bigger Place…

Qatar is bringing artificial intelligence deeper into the classroom. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced curriculum changes for the 2026-2027 academic year. AI, data science, entrepreneurship, economics, and practical skills are getting more attention. The changes will affect students across different school stages. This is not just about teaching students how to use an AI chatbot. Qatar wants students to understand technology, question its output, and prepare for a changing labour market. Critical thinking remains part of the plan. The move also puts Qatar alongside other Gulf states pushing AI education earlier into school life. AI Is…

Telecom operators in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are starting to look at AI differently. For years, the conversation centered on building networks capable of handling more data. AI was another workload those networks needed to support. Now, operators increasingly see artificial intelligence as something they can sell. A new Ciena survey shows just how strong that expectation has become. In the UAE, 96% of surveyed service providers expect AI-driven network services to generate new revenue. The figure reaches 90% in Saudi Arabia. Both groups expect that opportunity to grow over the next three to five years. The Gulf’s AI…

Salesforce is getting something investors have been waiting for: clearer signs that its AI push is turning into revenue. The company raised its fiscal 2027 sales forecast after reporting stronger demand for Agentforce and Data 360. These are central pieces of Salesforce’s artificial intelligence strategy. Salesforce now expects full-year revenue of $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion. Its previous forecast stood at $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion. The reaction came quickly. Salesforce shares rose about 7% in extended trading after the announcement. For a company facing questions about whether AI could disrupt traditional software, the quarter delivered a different message. Salesforce…

Lam Research is putting another major piece of infrastructure behind the AI chip boom. The new Lam Research Oregon AI chip lab represents a significant step for the company in advancing chip technology. The semiconductor equipment company has broken ground on a new research and development lab in Tualatin, Oregon. The facility will support work on advanced chips used for AI and high-performance computing. It is also the first major milestone in Lam’s planned $3 billion-plus expansion of its global lab network. The timing makes sense. AI chips are becoming more complex. Memory demand is rising. Advanced packaging is moving…

Saudi Arabia is preparing for another huge technology gathering. LEAP 2026 returns to Riyadh from August 31 to September 3, 2026. The event brings global technology companies, startups, investors, policymakers, and developers together in one place. Artificial intelligence will be a major part of the conversation. LEAP has grown well beyond the usual conference format. It has become a showcase for Saudi Arabia’s expanding digital economy. Cloud computing, cybersecurity, fintech, gaming, enterprise technology, and AI all sit inside the wider program. This year’s theme is “Into New Worlds.” And AI is increasingly one of those worlds. LEAP 2026 Runs From…

Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN is taking its Arabic AI models into Microsoft’s enterprise ecosystem. The two companies announced the first milestone in a long-term strategic collaboration on August 26. The plan centers on bringing HUMAIN’s ALLAM Arabic-language models to Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft 365 Copilot is part of the roadmap too. There is an important distinction, though. ALLAM isn’t being announced as generally available on those platforms today. HUMAIN and Microsoft say they intend to make the models available. No public launch date or pricing was included in the announcement. The bigger story is what happens if that integration lands. Arabic-focused AI…

Oman has a new sovereign AI platform, and the pitch is refreshingly practical. Omantel technology subsidiary Otech and Omani AI startup DeepAstra have launched the DeepAstra API. The locally hosted service gives organizations access to multiple AI models through one interface. Users can test different models without building separate infrastructure for each one. There is another important piece: the data stays local. The platform is designed around security, governance, compliance, and greater control over AI deployments. For smaller companies, that could remove a stubborn barrier. Building AI infrastructure is expensive. Renting access to it as needed is considerably easier. One…

The Sharjah conglomerate has launched DIWAN, its own private, group-wide AI assistant, now live for employees across the Group and delivered with technology partner Magure. DIWAN runs on a privately deployed model within the Group’s own cloud environment, designed so that sensitive data stays inside the Group’s infrastructure. Sharjah and Dubai, UAE August 26, 2026. Bukhatir Group, one of the UAE’s oldest and most diversified business houses, and Magure, a UAE-headquartered enterprise AI company, today announced a strategic partnership to embed AI across the Group’s businesses, beginning with a milestone already achieved: DIWAN, a secure enterprise AI assistant, is now…

The free eight-week online program, delivered by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, helps businesses turn early-stage ideas into actionable R&D plans while building connections with expert facilitators and researchers. Offered through the Queensland Government-funded Regional University Industry Collaboration (RUIC) program, Innovate to Grow connects businesses with experienced researchers and industry mentors at the state’s regional universities. Dr George Feast, CSIRO’s Executive Manager for Industry-Research Collaboration, said the program helped SMEs make confident, informed decisions about their research. “Many businesses want to invest in R&D but aren’t sure where to start, or whether an idea is worth pursuing,” Dr Feast said.…

Faria Education Group is pushing deeper into artificial intelligence with a new acquisition aimed directly at school data. The education technology company has acquired Edu Intelligence, an AI-native analytics platform built for schools. The deal adds a new data and analytics layer to Faria’s growing product ecosystem. The attraction is fairly easy to see. Schools already collect huge amounts of information, but that data often sits in separate systems. Edu Intelligence is designed to make those records easier to question and understand. School leaders can ask questions in plain English. The platform then returns evidence-based answers without requiring complex dashboards…

The enterprise AI conversation is changing. For the past few years, companies rushed to launch pilots, test generative AI tools, and talk about transformation. Now executives are facing a less exciting question: what is actually working? That tension sits at the center of Momentum AI Austin 2026. Reuters Events has released the summit’s full C-suite agenda and confirmed its premier sponsors. The event is scheduled for September 24–25 at the JW Marriott Austin. More than 500 senior executives are expected to attend. Over 70% of the audience will represent enterprise decision-makers. The focus is not another round of AI demos.…

Searching Google for an AI coding tool should be routine. Recently, however, fake OpenAI Codex ads have resulted in a malware trap for some Mac users. For some Mac users, it became a malware trap. Cybercriminals are buying sponsored search ads that pretend to offer OpenAI Codex downloads. The ads lead developers to convincing fake pages hosted through Google Sites. Those pages use OpenAI branding and look believable at first glance. There is no real Codex installer waiting there. Instead, users are told to open Terminal and paste a command. That command quietly starts a multi-stage malware infection. Researchers at…

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), represented by the Sharjah Training and Development Center (STDC), is set to launch the Oxford and Cambridge Executive Programme in Leadership, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, taking place at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge from 30 August to 5 September 2026. The programme is part of the Sharjah Chamber’s strategic initiatives for 2026, underscoring its commitment to investing in human capital and developing future-ready executive leadership equipped to navigate rapid advances in AI, the digital economy, strategic decision-making, and digital transformation. It is designed to enhance organisational agility in responding to…

Buying business internet in the UAE is starting to look less like buying connectivity and more like buying an AI stack. One notable example of this shift is e& UAE Business Pro AI, which is changing expectations for business connectivity in the region. If you are considering e& UAE Business Pro AI for your company, it’s important to understand how this innovative solution is transforming the business landscape. e& UAE has launched Business Pro AI, a new range of business fibre plans with AI tools built into the package. Eligible plans include Microsoft 365 Copilot at no additional monthly cost.…

Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions just picked up another major European partner. French AI company Mistral and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN have announced a strategic collaboration worth hundreds of millions of euros. The agreement covers AI infrastructure, advanced models, and commercial deployment. Saudi Arabia will be the starting point, but the companies are thinking regionally. The interesting part isn’t simply the size of the deal. Mistral and HUMAIN want to build technology together. Arabic-language models, cybersecurity, voice AI, local computing capacity, and sovereign AI are all part of the plan. For HUMAIN, this adds another major name to its rapidly expanding AI…

The United Kingdom and Ukraine are taking their technology partnership deeper into artificial intelligence. On August 24, the two countries signed a strategic AI partnership in Kyiv. The agreement brings together British AI expertise and Ukraine’s battlefield experience. Its first focus will be defence and national security. One part stands out. Britain will become the first international partner to gain access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs. The platform holds battlefield data used to train AI models. That could give British researchers a rare testing ground for new defence technology. Britain Gets Access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs The agreement gives…

The UAE is putting artificial intelligence to work against a problem AI itself has helped complicate: misinformation. The International Centre for Combating Media Disinformation (ICCMD) is developing an AI-powered system for monitoring digital media. It will analyze online content, identify patterns, and support verification efforts. The system is also designed to track how narratives spread across digital channels. This isn’t simply another fact-checking tool. The project points toward a broader approach where AI continuously watches the information environment. Human media expertise will remain part of the process. AI Will Monitor Digital Content as It Spreads The ICCMD system is being…

Travelers used to follow a predictable path when searching for hotels. They opened Google, searched a destination, compared properties, checked reviews, and then booked. AI is starting to change that routine. Travelers can now describe the type of stay they want in plain language. An AI assistant can then narrow the choices before the traveler visits a hotel website or booking platform. That shift creates a new challenge for hotels. Their property may be filtered out before a traditional search result even appears. Travelers Are Asking AI Instead of Browsing Endless Hotel Results Traditional hotel search gives travelers pages of…