Abu Dhabi launches major training programme to teach AI skills to the public

On Wednesday, Abu Dhabi announced an ambitious training program called AiNative to equip thousands of government employees and the general public with essential artificial intelligence (AI) skills. The initiative, a collaboration between the Abu Dhabi government, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and global tech leaders OpenAI and Microsoft, aims to have 20,000 government employees proficient in AI by the end of the year.

This is a crucial step towards Abu Dhabi's goal of becoming the world's first AI-native government by 2027.

The program, unveiled at the AiEverything conference in Abu Dhabi, will provide employees with support in using cutting-edge AI tools like ChatGPT, Codex, and Microsoft 365 Copilot in their daily tasks. Specialized certifications in coding, data, and other function-specific areas will be offered in subsequent phases of the project.

Through the Tomouh AI-driven learning app, accessible via the UAE Pass government app, citizens and residents will also be able to benefit from the training. The program will cover practical AI applications in personal finance management, small business operations, job searching, studying, and responsible online content creation.

Wesam Lootah, director general of GovDigital at DGE, emphasized the importance of AI knowledge and confidence in Abu Dhabi's AI journey. Eric Xing, President and University Professor at MBZUAI, highlighted the need for accessible AI education to foster a responsible AI-driven society.

The AiNative program is being rolled out in phases, with an initial pilot already underway within government departments before its public launch. The program complements Microsoft 365 Copilot's rollout to 35,000 Abu Dhabi government workers, as part of the Frontier Employee Programme announced in July. Abu Dhabi's AI vision, as outlined in the Digital Strategy 2025-2027, aims to invest Dh13 billion in digital infrastructure, automate 100% of government processes, and integrate sovereign cloud computing across all operations.

This initiative is expected to generate over Dh24 billion in economic growth by 2027 and create more than 5,000 jobs, supporting Emiratisation efforts.