From AI to Web3: Dubai’s model for a future economy

Dubai is engineering its future with uncommon precision. In this episode of Lens on Singapore, Claressa Monteiro speaks with Dr Marwan Al Zarouni, CEO of Artificial Intelligence at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and Mohammad Alblooshi, CEO of DIFC Innovation Hub, to unpack how AI, governance and digital assets are being built into Dubai’s economic architecture.

From the D33 agenda to tokenised finance, this conversation explores what Singapore can learn from a city that treats innovation as a national engine.

Highlights of the conversation:

01:38 Dubai’s AI blueprint and the AED 100 billion ambition

02:43 Governing AI: Ethics, trust and cybersecurity at scale

05:07 DIFC’s design advantage: How a financial centre became an innovation hub

07:13 Talent density: Why global founders are choosing Dubai

09:25 Blockchain, VARA and the future of tokenised finance

13:49 Singapore–Dubai synergies and what both economies can learn

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Written and presented by: Claressa Monteiro (claremb@sph.com.sg)

With Dr Marwan Al Zarouni, CEO of Artificial Intelligence at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and Mohammad Alblooshi, CEO of DIFC Innovation Hub

Post-production: Claressa Monteiro and Emily Liu

Coordinating producer: Emily Liu

A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media

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