Dubai forum charts AI reskilling agenda

Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government convened policymakers, academics and technology leaders in Dubai to examine how governments can prepare societies for the rapid workforce shifts driven by artificial intelligence, positioning the emirate at the centre of a wider regional debate on skills, productivity and social stability.

The dialogue, held at the school’s headquarters, served as an official pre-summit event for the AI Impact Summit, which is being hosted this year by the Government of India. Participants framed the session as a strategic platform to align education reform, labour policy and digital infrastructure with the accelerating deployment of AI systems across public and private sectors.

Senior officials from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government underscored that AI is no longer confined to experimental use cases but is embedded in finance, healthcare, logistics and public administration. They warned that without coordinated reskilling strategies, automation could deepen inequality and widen productivity gaps between advanced and emerging economies.

The discussions focused on three interlinked themes: adapting national education systems, redesigning labour market policies and fostering collaboration between government, academia and industry. Speakers argued that traditional models of higher education, built around static degree programmes, are ill-suited to a labour market where job roles evolve in tandem with software capabilities.

Delegates highlighted that generative AI tools are reshaping tasks ranging from coding and legal drafting to medical diagnostics and content production. While these tools promise efficiency gains, they also challenge mid-career professionals whose roles risk partial automation. Economists at the forum pointed to studies suggesting that a significant share of tasks in knowledge-intensive sectors can now be augmented by AI, even if full job displacement remains uneven across industries.

Against that backdrop, MBRSG’s leadership called for what they described as a “whole-of-society” approach to reskilling. This includes integrating digital literacy and data competencies into school curricula, expanding vocational pathways tied to emerging technologies and incentivising continuous learning through tax credits or public funding mechanisms.

Officials noted that Gulf economies, including the United Arab Emirates, have invested heavily in AI strategies over the past decade, from establishing dedicated ministries to embedding AI solutions in public services. Yet they acknowledged that infrastructure and regulatory progress must be matched by human capital development if long-term economic diversification goals are to be met.

Participants from industry emphasised the importance of micro-credentials and modular training programmes that allow workers to update skills without leaving the labour force. Representatives from technology firms described partnerships with universities to deliver short, industry-aligned courses in machine learning, cybersecurity and data analytics. They argued that flexible certification models can respond more quickly to technological change than traditional academic structures.

The Dubai dialogue also addressed concerns about social cohesion. Labour experts warned that reskilling policies must account for demographic disparities, including gender participation gaps and the vulnerability of lower-income workers to automation. Speakers cited evidence that targeted digital training programmes can improve employment outcomes for women and youth, particularly in regions where formal job markets are constrained.

Another focal point was public sector transformation. Government officials shared examples of AI applications in service delivery, including predictive analytics in urban planning and automated processing in administrative workflows. They stressed that civil servants require upskilling not only in technical domains but also in ethics, governance and data stewardship to ensure responsible AI deployment.

Ethical governance featured prominently in the discussions. Academics argued that reskilling efforts must incorporate critical thinking about algorithmic bias, data privacy and transparency. They contended that trust in AI systems depends as much on institutional safeguards as on technical proficiency, and that public servants and citizens alike need a foundational understanding of how AI systems operate.

The event in Dubai forms part of a broader international push to harmonise AI policy frameworks. With the AI Impact Summit expected to gather global stakeholders, the pre-summit dialogue was positioned as an opportunity for regional voices to shape the global conversation. Participants stressed that emerging economies should not be passive recipients of AI technologies developed elsewhere but active contributors to research, standards and governance models.

MBRSG representatives said the school intends to translate the forum’s deliberations into policy recommendations and executive education programmes tailored to the needs of public leaders across the Middle East and beyond. They described plans to expand research on labour market transitions, digital government and the economic implications of AI-driven transformation.