Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attends opening of Machines Can See Summit

Ministers and experts from around the world chart talent‑first AI roadmap at the summit
Omar Sultan Al Olama: The UAE is actively shaping the future by developing responsible AI and applying its capabilities across vital domains
Event brings together more than 2,000 leaders, researchers, investors, experts, and policy-makers

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the opening of the third edition of the Machines Can See (MCS) Summit 2025 today in Dubai. The summit, the largest event dedicated to computer vision, is one of the leading gatherings for AI specialists in the region, bringing together more than 2,000 leaders, researchers, investors, experts, and policy-makers.

The summit, held in collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office as part of the Dubai AI Week, was organised by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence under the patronage of 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 Dubai Future Foundation. The summit aims to strengthen strategic partnerships between the government and private sectors, ensure alignment among governments' efforts to shape the future of AI, accelerate innovation, and harness AI applications to benefit societies.

The opening day featured a high-level ministerial dialogue titled ‘Wanted: AI to Retain and Attract Talent to the Country.’ The session brought together senior policymakers from the UAE, Egypt, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and other countries around the globe. Additionally, the event gathered experts from around the world through 20 keynote speeches and panel discussions under the theme ‘Good AI: Making the World a Safer Place.’

The dialogues and discussions spotlighted national strategies to attract, develop, and retain the talent needed to power the next era of AI-driven innovation, while also examining the social impact of artificial intelligence across fields such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, industry, and the arts.

In his opening speech, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, stated that innovation in developing AI solutions to enhance government work, improve well-being, and establish a new economic model represents a key pillar of the UAE’s strategic direction. It forms part of a forward-looking vision embraced by the leadership to ensure sustainable development and prosperity, and strengthen the UAE’s global competitiveness and leadership across various sectors, he said.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama further stated that the UAE is actively shaping the future by developing responsible AI and applying its capabilities across vital domains. The UAE stands at the forefront of this effort, setting global benchmarks through transformative solutions that reimagine the future, place human well-being at the core of innovation, and make the UAE the easiest place on Earth for world-class researchers to live, work, and launch companies.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was accompanied at the summit by Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation.
During the summit, Alexander Khanin, the founder of the summit stated: “We built Machines Can See so ideas don’t get trapped in labs; our goal is to turn breakthrough research into products that change lives.”

Pan‑regional exchange
Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia’s Minister of Digital, emphasised high‑performance compute and a vibrant start‑up pipeline. He said: “Malaysia is building a future‑ready digital ecosystem driven by innovation, talent and responsible AI adoption. Events like Machines Can See allow us to engage with global partners, exchange ideas and shape policies that will define the next wave of digital transformation. We are focused on growing our AI talent pool and creating an environment where cutting‑edge technologies and businesses can thrive.”

Ensuring inclusive, Arabic‑enabled AI
His Excellency Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, showcased the second phase of Egypt’s National AI Strategy. He said: “Artificial intelligence must serve people, empower talent and drive inclusive development. We are doubling down on AI‑specific training, backing AI‑powered start‑ups and expanding our national data‑centre footprint so smart services reach every citizen. Egypt is not only ready for the AI age — we are helping shape it for the region and beyond.”

Incentives for digital nomads
His Excellency Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, highlighted fresh incentives: “Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a trusted partner in the global AI landscape by creating an open, innovation‑driven environment for talents and companies. From our Digital Nomad Visa to the launch of Alem.AI—our flagship international AI centre—we are attracting the brightest minds in technology while maintaining a strong focus on human‑centred, ethical AI.”

Scaling skills and compute
His Excellency Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, announced Jakarta’s forthcoming National GPU Lab and micro‑credential programme for 50,000 developers annually, stressing AI for smart‑agriculture and health resilience.

Kazakhstan’s new regional memorandum
Astana Hub (Kazakhstan), IT‑Park Uzbekistan and Al‑Farabi Innovation Hub (UAE) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a unified platform to help Central‑Asian start‑ups soft‑land in the UAE and expand across the wider MENA region.

The MoU establishes joint acceleration cohorts, cross‑border fundraising support and reciprocal talent‑visa pathways.

“From our Digital Nomad visa to today’s agreement with the UAE and Uzbekistan, we are building the incentives and ecosystem needed to attract the brightest minds while exporting Central‑Asian innovation to the world,” Minister Madiyev said.

Converging priorities and next steps
Despite differing economic contexts, ministers were aligned on three imperatives: unifying talent pathways through accelerated visas and embedding ethics by design in all deployments. They agreed to co‑author a white‑paper on cross‑border talent mobility and to pilot data‑sharing projects in healthcare and smart‑city platforms.

Industrial‑scale AI
Gerard Medioni, Vice President and Distinguished Scientist at Amazon Prime Video & Studios demonstrated scene‑aware machine‑learning models that personalise viewing recommendations at the frame level. Dr. Michael Bronstein, DeepMind Professor of AI at the University of Oxford, traced the rise of Geometric Deep Learning “from Euclid to potential Nobel‑class discoveries,” underscoring AI’s role in drug design and fundamental science.

Daniele Iacovelli, SVP - Global Head of Digital, Analytics & Operational Excellence at Roche presented a case study on AI‑based predictive control of cell ageing that can compress biopharma development timelines.

Workshops deliver hands‑on expertise
Throughout the day, delegates filled parallel sessions led by industry partners:
● X introduced new streaming‑analytics tools and its Grok large language model.

● SAP guided participants in building custom enterprise AI assistants.

● NVIDIA explored a platform approach to bringing generative AI into production, while Dubai Police previewed forensic DNA analytics powered by machine vision.

Ethics and security take centre stage
A panel on “Good AI: Between Hype and Mediocrity” moderated by journalist Dana Al Omar examined the balance between scale and safety, featuring Vice President of Data and AI at IBM and AI‑ethics scholar Paolo Benanti, Professor of AI Ethics at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Cybersecurity expert Rob van der Veer, Chief AI Officer at Software Improvement Group (SIG) outlined a five‑step playbook for mitigating model risk during a keynote that resonated with both regulators and engineers. While a venture‑capital session titled “Byte‑Sized Profits” drew investors such as Lydia Jett and Faris Al Mazrui to debate capital efficiency in deep‑tech deals.