World's greatest AI thinkers to meet in Dubai in 2026, celebrating 70 years of Artificial Intelligence

Emirates 24/7

25-04-2025

The UAE in 2026 will bring together the greatest minds from the worlds of academia, business, technology, philosophy, art and science to set the path forward for the development of Artificial Intelligence over the next 70 years, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, said today.
The global event, to be held as part of Dubai AI Week 2026, called 'AI@70: Towards a Global Humanity' is designed to initiate and enable a conversation around the philosophical research questions that underpin the age of AI. The event, timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Dartmouth Workshop that established AI as a field of study, will be officially supported by US Ivy League University Dartmouth College – hosts of the original series of meetings in 1956 known as "the Constitutional Convention of AI".
His Highness said: "Dubai believes in the power of knowledge sharing, global cooperation, and meaningful partnerships to anticipate the future of artificial intelligence and harness it to improve lives and advance societies."
His Highness added: 'AI is the transformative technology of our time. It has the power to change the way we understand what it means to be human, how we work, and how we understand the infrastructure of humanity. To unlock its full potential, Dubai will bring together the brightest minds from around the world – to understand the changes AI will bring and to ensure it is a force for positive, inclusive development. This event will place Dubai at the heart of the global AI conversation, drawing on our rich philosophical history to set up new breakthroughs that serve humanity.'
The event will be the prelude to the creation of the 'Humanity Lab' an incubator which will last eight weeks – the same duration as the original Dartmouth Conference. The incubator, which will be hosted by the DIFC's Dubai AI Campus, is designed to fuse art, philosophy and technology to develop a new category of AI products –– that reflect the profound changes AI is having on humanity.
The gathering of luminaries will lay out a radical research agenda for the world, focusing on the most impactful, forward-looking scientific, philosophical, ethical and societal questions around AI. The event will aim to match the technological breakthroughs that are taking place across the world with philosophical innovation, creating a new understanding of current transformations. It will generate an inventory of possible futures that were impossible in the past. It is an opportunity to set the agenda for a new generation of entrepreneurs and artists as they explore previously impossible paradigms.
AI@70 will be organised by the DIFC in collaboration with the advisory firm APCO. The conference steering committee includes representatives from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), advisors from global advisory firm APCO, and other experts in the field of artificial intelligence.
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