UAE hosts first Emerging Tech Governance Summit

Abu Dhabi Hosts First-Ever Global Summit on Governing Emerging Technologies

Abu Dhabi [UAE], May 6 – Under the esteemed patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court, the UAE officially launched the inaugural Governance of Emerging Technologies Summit (GETS 2025) in Abu Dhabi. This landmark event marks a significant regional and global milestone in shaping frameworks for responsible innovation and digital transformation.

Organised by the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) in strategic partnership with the UAE Public Prosecution, the summit serves as a vital international platform for dialogue among legal experts, government leaders, technology innovators, and youth representatives.

More than 1,000 people from more than 20 countries, including high-ranking Arab dignitaries, attended the inauguration day. Among the notable attendees were the Attorneys General of Qatar and Egypt, the Deputy Attorney General of Oman, as well as significant voices in legal and technology change, ministers, judges, and cybersecurity professionals.

The agenda for the first day included pressing issues such as post-quantum encryption, international data governance, cybersecurity resilience and AI ethics. The discussions highlighted the need for human-centric and integrated governance approaches in the face of rapid technological advancement.

In his welcome address, His Excellency Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, Attorney General of the UAE, stressed the UAE’s commitment to open, ethical and human values-based governance. He underlined that innovation is incomplete without an ethical foundation. Rather than promoting progress for its own sake, technologies should benefit humanity and uphold justice.

Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of ATRC and Advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology, stressed the importance of corporate responsibility in the technology sector. According to him, companies must be responsive to the tools they make available, and regulatory authorities and industry must collaborate closely to prevent unintended consequences.

Additional insights were shared by key leaders such as Sultan Al Neyadi, Minister of State for Youth Affairs; Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council; Maqsoud Kruse, Chairman of the National Human Rights Institution; and Chancellor Salem Ali Al Zaabi, Head of Public Prosecution. Their discussions focused on digital rights, how young people influence governance, and how AI affects inclusivity and privacy.

Chancellor Al Zaabi’s presentation of the UAE Public Prosecution’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 during a session titled “From Vision to Empowerment: The Roadmap to Justice 2030” was a significant highlight of the conference. The strategy lays out the goal of establishing the Prosecution as a technologically sophisticated organization that uses AI to expedite decision-making and facilitate proactive governance while upholding the highest legal and ethical standards.

The summit concluded its first day with a powerful set of global recommendations. Among these were the necessity of drafting an international charter that would govern human-AI interactions and incorporate moral standards and inclusivity into technology from the very beginning. Strong emphasis was placed on the necessity of cybersecurity and digital trust as national imperatives, the significance of youth involvement in government, and the development of adaptable legal frameworks that change in response to new developments.

The significance of linguistic inclusion in AI systems, post-quantum preparation, and encryption advancements were also emphasized. To guarantee that AI systems serve a variety of people fairly, experts advised governments and industry participants to make investments in local language datasets, digital accessibility, and public education.

In partnership with TRENDS Research and Consulting, GETS 2025 positions the UAE as a global leader in defining a safe, ethical, and inclusive future for digital technologies and the societies they shape.