UAE Plans to Hand Half of Government Operations to Autonomous AI Within Two Years
The United Arab Emirates will shift 50% of federal government operations to autonomous artificial intelligence systems by 2028, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced May 15. The directive, backed by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, moves beyond traditional software upgrades toward systems that make decisions and execute tasks without human intervention.
Sheikh Mohammed described AI as an "executive partner" rather than a tool, signaling how deeply the systems will operate within government functions.
How the Plan Works
Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed will oversee the initiative. Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi chairs the task force managing execution.
The government will measure success through three benchmarks: how quickly agencies adopt the systems, quality of implementation, and how thoroughly departments redesign workflows around AI capabilities.
Retraining the Civil Service
Federal employees will receive training in generative AI tools. The shift repositions civil servants as supervisors of AI-driven systems rather than traditional administrators.
This restructuring assumes agencies will redesign how work gets done, not simply add AI to existing processes.
What This Means for Government Workers
Roles will change significantly. Staff will need to understand how to direct, monitor, and verify work performed by autonomous systems. For government employees, this means developing new skills in AI for Government and learning to work alongside AI Agents & Automation.
The UAE's timeline is aggressive. Most governments are still piloting AI in select departments. A 50% operational shift in two years requires rapid scaling, training, and workflow redesign across multiple agencies simultaneously.
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