UAE taps AI to write laws in global first

The UAE unveiled plans to use AI to help draft, amend and review laws, marking a world-first approach to integrating the technology into its legislative process.Announced by Dubai ruler and UAE VP Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the initiative will utilise AI to speed up lawmaking by up to 70 per cent, the Financial Times (FT) reported. The Regulatory Intelligence Office, a newly formed government unit approved last week, will oversee the rollout.

Sheikh Mohammad told state media the new legislative system, “powered by artificial intelligence, will change how we create laws, making the process faster and more precise”.The UAE’s approach marks a leap from current global applications of AI in government, which are largely limited to administrative support and document summarisation. The Gulf state aims to use the technology to analyse government and legal data to actively review and amend legislations.



Emirati political commentator Abdulkhaleq Abdulla told The Telegraph that the country is “very serious” about AI, stating the UAE aims to be a “global AI and digital economy hub just as it is a global financial and logistics hub”.However, concerns about the reliability of the technology in legislation prevail. Researchers told the FT that AI models could misinterpret legal texts, while warning that AI-generated legislative proposals could be out of step with human norms and contexts.

Despite the risks, Oxford Internet Institute’s Keegan McBride lauded the country’s ambitions, telling the publication that the UAE’s centralised governance structure allows it to move quickly on tech as opposed to democratic systems.The initiative builds on the country’s longstanding commitment to AI. In 2017, the UAE appointed Omar Sultan al-Olama as the world’s first AI minister.

The move came days after the government unveiled the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence as part of the nation’s broader plan to boost government efficiency through emerging technologies.Furthermore, the Gulf state launched a dedicated AI fund last year dubbed MGX. Amongst its other ventures, MGX notably backed US-based investment company BlackRock’s $30 billion AI-infrastructure fund.

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