The World Government Summit explores the future role of artificial intelligence in economic transformation and global growth
Dubai, February 5, 2026: Government leaders, researchers, international experts, and pioneers in the technology and economic sectors, who participated in the Artificial Intelligence Forum, which was organized within the activities of the World Government Summit 2026, explored the future of the role of artificial intelligence in global economic transformation, advanced scientific research, and the governance structures required for the next decade.
The forum formed a platform to unify global visions on the role of artificial intelligence in raising productivity, infrastructure development, safety, workforce transformation, and the geopolitical aspects of artificial intelligence, and to discuss ways to ensure that its benefits extend to developed and developing economies.
The forum was opened with a speech by His Excellency Dr. David Mwenina Snejeh, Prime Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and His Excellency Munyong Lim, Vice Chairman of the Presidential Council for the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in the Republic of Korea.
During his opening speech, His Excellency Dr. Sneja stressed the need to establish artificial intelligence as a priority for all governments because of its broad impact on societies, economies and development paths, pointing to the role of the UAE and the World Government Summit platform at the forefront of these efforts years ago, as they led the formulation of the global vision for the path of artificial intelligence and the promotion of its transformative stories. Today, countries such as Sierra Leone are following in the footsteps of these pioneering experiences.
His Excellency also stressed the importance of justice, equal opportunities and inclusiveness at the heart of this transformation, noting the importance of starting the digital journey from the leadership and praising Sierra Leone’s leadership and vision, which realized that the real impact goes beyond numbers and indicators, to enable individuals to access banking and financial services, invest in human capital development, and improve health care, and Sierra Leone demonstrated this through practical digital solutions that contributed to supporting teachers, empowering citizens, and achieving tangible value on the ground.
For his part, His Excellency Munyoung Lim explained, in a keynote speech entitled “Korea’s Democracy and Its Transformation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence,” that the Republic of Korea, as a country that has consolidated its democracy through the power of knowledge, is looking forward to launching a new phase entitled “The Basic Community for Artificial Intelligence” in partnership with the international community, which will ensure that the emerging potential of artificial intelligence is made available as a common global human right for all societies of the world.
The “Artificial Intelligence Economy/From Adoption to Achieving Competitive Advantage” session touched on the importance of moving from adopting artificial intelligence technologies to employing them strategically to achieve high global returns. The session addressed the foundations of the success of the artificial intelligence economy represented by redesigning processes and business models to raise productivity, accelerate innovation, and improve customer experience, while adhering to the principles of responsible artificial intelligence in terms of transparency, security, and trust.
The forum witnessed the organization of a session entitled “Beyond Generative Artificial Intelligence/From Innovation to Real-World Impact,” during which Laila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer at Google DeepMind, shared her vision for the world’s transition to the stage of achieving tangible and sustainable impact in practice, reviewing the ability of generative artificial intelligence to transform research innovations into applications with great returns in various sectors and the importance of measuring real-world impact on the extent of developing the quality of life of societies.
The session also discussed the importance of building reliable and scalable systems, and integrating generative artificial intelligence into the daily work methods of organizations, in addition to investing in infrastructure and distinguished skills.
The session addressed the challenges associated with high energy consumption, the need for clean and flexible energy sources, including advanced nuclear energy, hydrogen, and innovative solutions for storage and cooling, and the importance of proactive planning and integration between the technology and energy sectors to ensure sustainable growth of data centers that supports digital transformation consistent with sustainability goals, and the geopolitical and economic dimension of the role of data centers in reshaping the global energy future.
A session entitled “A Future Outlook for Adopting Artificial Intelligence in the Business Sector,” which included Antonio Zappola, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, discussed the profound transformations that artificial intelligence is bringing about in business models and decision-making methods within organizations.
The forum highlighted the acceleration in the development of artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence agents, and advanced reasoning architectures, which expose traditional governance frameworks to increasing challenges, and intensify the global race for computing, data, and talent, which underscores the importance of countries keeping up with achieving a balance between innovation on the one hand, and scientific integrity, safety assessment, infrastructure readiness, and universal access on the other hand, especially with the escalating demand for computing and increasing pressures related to sustainability.
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