Dubai banks on tech to make people happier
Dubai aims to take the happiness level of its residents from 90 per cent last year to 95 per cent with an increased focus on technology such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, Smart Dubai chief said.
“Our vision is to make Dubai the happiest city on Earth. Technology builds solutions, so our end goal is to make people happy through the use of technology, blockchain, artificial intelligence and make the city safer and happier for visitors and residents. We are lucky to be guided by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has always championed our mission in the UAE to make residents happier. The government’s role is to provide happiness as a service. For us in Dubai, smartness is equal to happiness,” said Dr Aisha Butti bin Bishr, director-general, Smart Dubai.
She said the target is to achieve over $1 billion in savings for the Dubai government using smart services. Dubai can save $4.8 billion through Internet of Things, $1.5 billion through blockchain and $2.9 billion by embracing other technologies, she said.
She said the government would implement blockchain technology in all applicable services by 2020 to empower startups and businesses, hence creating thousands of business opportunities.
Fuelled by the world’s most ambitious open and shared data initiative, Dubai will see a $2.9 billion contribution with this project by 2021, she said, adding that unlocking the potential of data to open opportunities in every sector will add a value of $1.8 billion.
Dr Aisha was speaking at the Gitex Technology Week, which opened on October 8 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
our vision is to make Dubai the happiest city on earth Dr Aisha Butti bin Bishr, Director-general, Smart Dubai
She appreciated the role and commitment of the public and private sectors to help transform the emirate into the happiest city in the world.
“It’s not only a government project. Though it’s led by government, we have the private sector with us which plays an equally important role. We will benefit from commitment by both sectors. Our challenge is not to build happiness from scratch but from existing projects under the private and public sectors,” she added.
She highlighted that a lot of progress has been made on the agenda to make the city smarter and happier. “We have continuous support from our partners. We would have not been able to do it alone. We have accomplished many achievements. The number of partners are growing from different sectors such as energy, education, health, aviation, community development and others. Since the beginning, we have dedicated ourselves to lay the foundation for digital transformation and prioritise people’s happiness. In the past several months, we have been announcing many initiatives as part of the happiness project,” she noted.
Jorge Saraiva, smart cities advisor, European Union, said Dubai is the first city which is prioritising people’s happiness as its agenda.
“It is all about talking about making people happier. When we asked people in London, 94 per cent said they want to be happy. So, it means that is the most important part. If you are happy, the entire city prospers. Social interaction among the people is at the core of making people happy,” he said.
— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com