UAE Treats AI Literacy as a National Economic Priority: Report
The country is integrating AI capability into education, regulation, and workforce development to strengthen competitiveness and accelerate responsible AI adoption.
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[Image: Nomita Samaiyar/MITSMR Middle East]
While many governments are tackling AI regulation and workforce development separately, the UAE is bringing the two together by making AI literacy a national priority.
A new report by Coursera argues that the country’s AI ambitions increasingly depend not only on deploying advanced technologies, but also on building a workforce capable of using them responsibly. Rather than treating AI skills as a training initiative, the UAE is positioning workforce capability as a measurable national objective that underpins governance, digital transformation, and long-term economic diversification.
The report, Navigating GCC AI Regulation: A Playbook for Building an AI-Literate & Compliant Workforce, examines AI policy across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. It finds that the Gulf’s emerging regulatory model differs from those in Europe and North America by integrating AI literacy directly into governance frameworks, rather than treating it solely as a human capital issue.
According to the report, organizations operating in the region are increasingly expected to incorporate regulatory requirements into AI systems, operating processes, and employee training from the outset rather than treating compliance as a post-deployment exercise. That includes role-specific education on data privacy, cybersecurity obligations, model governance, and responsible AI practices.
“The UAE’s approach recognizes that successful AI adoption is fundamentally dependent on having a workforce equipped with the skills to use these technologies responsibly,” said Kais Zribi, General Manager for the Middle East and Africa at Coursera.
“With foundational AI proficiency becoming a critical driver for both regulatory readiness and organizational resilience, businesses that proactively prioritize upskilling will be better positioned to navigate evolving regulations, accelerate innovation, and unlock AI’s full value.”
The report points to several national initiatives that reinforce this strategy. AI has been introduced as a mandatory subject across public schools, while programs such as One Million Prompters and AI for All aim to expand practical AI capabilities across students, educators, professionals, and government employees.
At the enterprise level, the UAE is also supporting private-sector adoption of agentic AI as part of its broader digital transformation agenda.
For business leaders, the implications extend beyond workforce development. The report argues that organizations that fail to invest in AI literacy risk widening internal capability gaps while becoming increasingly misaligned with government priorities.
In a market where governments are simultaneously regulators, customers, and major adopters of AI technologies, workforce capability may influence procurement opportunities, regulatory preparedness, and long-term competitiveness.
To help organizations respond, Coursera outlines nine recommendations for building an AI-literate workforce. Among them are embedding AI literacy into corporate governance rather than isolating it within learning and development teams, assessing AI capability gaps alongside enterprise risk, aligning training with evolving regulatory expectations, and connecting AI upskilling with Emiratization and broader workforce planning objectives.
