‘Future cities’ in focus at WGS24: Can Dubai build a brighter, happier and more prosperous future?

Dubai is hosting the annual World Government Summit (WGS) from February 12 to 14 under the theme ‘Shaping Future Governments’. It has lured participation from heads of state and governments, global organisations, governmental delegations, thought leaders and experts.

Over its past editions, the Summit has been instrumental in inspiring proactive measures from governments and institutions to develop and embrace digital solutions to shape future cities. By putting data to good use, governments seek to become more agile and effective.

Future cities and World Government Summit’s journey

During the 2019 meeting, Dubai’s Crown Prince HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed discussed the challenges facing future cities in a speech titled “7 Key Principles for Future Cities”. His Highness is also the Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

“The future of countries, the future of human beings and the future of life is directly linked to the future of cities. Talk about the future of cities is always linked to Dubai because many of the world’s cities view Dubai as a city of the future,” Sheikh Hamdan had mentioned.

In 2021, the World Government Summit Organisation released a report as part of its efforts to support governments in envisioning and securing the cities of the future. Report focused on the need to invest heavily in securing Information and communication technologies.

In 2022, another report noted the urgency of comprehensive digital transformation for future city readiness. It underscored innovations and initiatives, including the app created by Dubai to capture citizen-customer happiness data in a consolidated city dashboard.

Read More: UAE’s Gulf neighbours possibly seeking to emulate Dubai’s massive success

General Manager at Microsoft UAE calls for investment

In statements to the official Emirates News Agency during his participation at the ongoing Summit, General Manager at Microsoft UAE Naim Yazbeck urged investment in AI and modern applications in Arab countries to foster societal growth.

Building future cities demands technological advancements and protection against challenges accompanying growth and urbanisation. This includes boosting cybersecurity measures and embracing new practices to keep pace with rapid transformation.

Expert acknowledges the need to be careful

OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman delivered a notable speech at the Summit on Tuesday, calling AI the “most exciting frontier” he could possibly imagine, expressing optimism about the future but acknowledging the need to be careful.

“You have to be patient, give us some time,” the entrepreneur said, highlighting that AI needs a significant amount of work to reach its true potential. In addition, he emphasised the need for a global AI watchdog system to monitor the crucial developments in the sector.