UAE uses AI effectively to combat COVID-19

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

The UAE’s use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has accelerated in the healthcare and education sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said leaders in healthcare and education.

Speaking to Euronews at one of the largest dedicated AI events in the world, AI Everything, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama said, “The issue with the pandemic, is that it’s a moving target — it spreads very fast. There’s a lot of touch points so you can’t really, have people go and sift through all of the data to understand how things are changing across the ground. So there is a lot of work done using AI for simulation purposes; understanding as well, the spread using AI, and creating strategies to contain the spread of the virus.”

Also at the event, American Hospital Dubai CEO Sherif Beshara said he was surprised at how much AI had helped predict medical demand during the pandemic.

He said, “I remember the first meeting that we attended at the disaster and crisis committee and how all the private sectors really got surprised by the government that they were utilising AI. They gave us their predictions and very clear on how many cases will come to Dubai and the UAE alone.”

He also spoke about the use of AI-powered robotic surgeons which American Hospital Dubai has been using throughout the pandemic to reduce complications and eliminate infections in surgery. He told Euronews, “Our robotic surgery operated on 105 cases during the pandemic on patients who were extremely high risk, with zero infections and zero complications.”

With distance learning and homeschooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic changing the future of education and being driven by AI, many experts believe that the human touch is irreplaceable within education, and that technology can only enhance and not replace classroom teaching.

Commenting on the change to e-learning due to the pandemic, Chairman of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dubai Dr Abdulla Al Karam said, “I think it really re-established teaching as a profession and what is it supposed to be all about.”