In the Gulf, the AI conversation has moved past curiosity. Boardrooms talk about productivity, governments talk about national strategy, and founders talk about speed. But the real bottleneck is rarely compute. It is people. Tan Ting (Grace) Tang has built her work around that gap, with a simple provocation at the center: the region will not win the AI era by waiting for more engineers. It will win by expanding the definition of who belongs in building, deploying, and governi

From 11–13 May 202, Ai Everything Abu Dhabi delivers the world’s largest showcase of AI solutions ready to transform every industry. Uniting 25,000+ global leaders, startups, policymakers, investors and visionaries the event brings together the forces shaping the future of artificial intelligence at scale.

When artificial intelligence starts moving from demos to deployment, the hardest work is rarely the model. It is alignment. Who gets access. Who sets guardrails. And who translates policy into practice. In Dubai, Gowri Shankar Sivabala has focused his energy on the connective tissue that makes adoption possible: a community designed to bring AI talent, founders, and policymakers into the same room, with shared language and shared responsibility.

In the Middle East, AI is becoming the defining catalyst for innovation at scale, accelerating the shift from traditional models towards new operating models and services. Sustained investment and bold government action to build AI infrastructure are creating a more enabling environment for businesses across the region.

Birthed from the vision of Dr. Hikmat Beaini, President of the AI in Dubai Conference, the opening day set out to do more than celebrate AI’s momentum. It created space for rich dialogue about the latest developments, and the real challenges that come with speed: trust, governance, accountability, and the question of who benefits. The core message was consistent throughout the day. Progress is not only technical. It is cultural, ethical, and institutional.