UAE Families Expect AI to Redefine How They Live, Bond, and Raise Children
AI-generated stories, digital companions, and home robots are increasingly seen as normal.
Topics
News
- Research Highlights a Growing Disconnect Between AI Adoption and Workforce Strategy
- UAE Introduces AI-Generated Spokesperson for International Outreach
- Governments Must Lead on AI Governance Instead of Ceding Responsibilities to AI Labs, Says Sam Altman
- AI Dispatch | AI’s Power Players Double Down
- Anthropic Joins Frontier, Signaling AI's Entry Into Carbon Removal Markets
- 42% of Middle East Employers Are Drowning in AI-Generated Job Applications, Survey Reveals
A new global survey by Kaspersky suggests that families in the UAE expect digital technologies, particularly AI, to significantly reshape shared domestic life over the next decade, blurring the boundaries between physical and virtual forms of togetherness.
As per the findings, 92% of respondents in the UAE believe digitalization will fundamentally alter how families spend time together, from daily routines to major life events. More than half (53%) anticipate AI-generated bedtime stories becoming a regular part of family life, signaling the normalization of algorithmically mediated caregiving and entertainment. At the same time, 33% expect children to increasingly prefer digital pets over real ones, pointing to a shift in how companionship itself may be defined in digitally native households.
The survey also highlights expectations of a broader reconfiguration of family rituals. About 65% of respondents believe family celebrations will take place primarily over video calls, while 41% can envision vacations entirely in virtual reality. Nearly half (48%) foresee home robots evolving beyond functional appliances to assume roles akin to family members.
While the research underscores optimism about technology’s capacity to enhance connection, Kaspersky cautions that these changes introduce new risks, particularly around children’s data privacy and device security. The company advises parents to prioritize platforms with transparent privacy policies, limit unnecessary data retention, and actively manage children’s digital exposure.
Additional recommendations include changing default device passwords, regularly updating firmware, and segmenting home networks to reduce vulnerabilities. Systems available in the market also allow monitoring home Wi-Fi networks and alerting users to unfamiliar connected devices.
“The accelerating pace of technology is not fragmenting the family but redefining its shared spaces,” said Seifallah Jedidi, Head of Consumer Channel for META at Kaspersky, emphasizing the need to design digital environments that are both secure and socially intentional.
The study was conducted in November 2025 and surveyed 3,000 respondents across 15 countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
