Gulf News

Dubai leading itself to the future with AI-led revolution — Kaku

‘FUTURE BRIGHT FOR NATIONS THAT TAP INTELLIGEN­CE CAPITAL’

- BY JANICE PONCE DE LEON Staff Reporter

Atoilet that can detect cancer cells long before a tumour grows. Contact lenses that harness informatio­n from the internet in one blink. Art conceived in the mind of an artist and then directly 3Dprinted. This is the future and those who embrace it are winners in the next revolution, an American futurist said.

Professor Michio Kaku, a renowned theoretica­l physicist, futurist and popular science communicat­or, revealed what our future world would look like at this year’s Risk and Resilience Conference 2018 in Dubai yesterday.

A keynote speaker at the conference with the theme ‘Enlighteni­ng Today’s Unknowns for Tomorrow’, Professor Kaku said the future is bright for countries and government­s that capitalise on intelligen­ce capital, adding that Dubai is doing exactly that.

Right balance

“The engine of prosperity is science and technology. Those countries which embrace those principles will be rich. Those countries that only believe in old-fashioned commoditie­s like agricultur­e and food unfortunat­ely — those prices keep dropping every year — they will be poor in the future,” Professor Kaku told Gulf News at the conference organised by the Dubai Electricit­y and Water Authority (Dewa) in partnershi­p with Ernst and Young.

“The leadership of Dubai grasped this fact that you have to balance intellectu­al capital — the product of the mind — with commodity capital — product of the hand — to create this vibrant society because the engine for prosperity is ultimately science and technology.”

For Professor Kaku, Dubai is a beacon for the region with its drive towards a knowledgeb­ased economy and its strategy to use artificial intelligen­ce (AI) in various future services, sectors and infrastruc­ture projects.

“The winners of the future are people who believe in strategy, planning, vision, innovation — these are the winners of the future. Congratula­tions, you [people of Dubai] are among the winners. I see Dubai as leading [itself] to the future. Dubai is at the forefront, at the leadership of this process.”

For Professor Kaku, Dubai is a beacon for the region with its drive towards a knowledgeb­ased economy and its strategy to use artificial intelligen­ce in future services.

Dewa’s vision

This year’s conference is particular­ly important due to the essential role of risk management, resilience, and business continuity in realising Dewa’s updated vision to become a sustainabl­e innovative leading utility, Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, said.

 ?? Courtesy: Dewa ?? Professor Michio Kaku, American theoretica­l physicist and futurist, at the Risk and Resilience Conference yesterday.
Courtesy: Dewa Professor Michio Kaku, American theoretica­l physicist and futurist, at the Risk and Resilience Conference yesterday.

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