< PreviousCOVER STORY Furthermore, the remit also includes a holistic transformation of the city and focuses on 7 key pillars including Digital Governance, Digital Infrastructure, Digital Economy, Digital Skills, Cybersecurity, Data & Statistics, and Digital Competitiveness. “Over the past year we have been hosting several stakeholder engagement workshops with government partners, the private sector, academia, startups, and more to understand how we can build end-to-end digital experiences for all citizens and residents of the city,” shares Dr Suwaidan. Accelerating the use of AI to enhance user journeys across industries is yet another focus area for Digital Dubai. Artifi cial intelligence, robotic process automation, predictive service delivery too are all part of the authority’s focus areas. “We believe that AI will play a key role in the design of city-wide user journeys, pre-empting most services needed by residents and visitors, and in some cases automatically executing transactions upon receiving approval from the respective resident or visitor.” When asked about how Digital Dubai juggles its roles as regulators, while also ensuring that it is not hampering innovation in the various sectors, Dr Suwaidan admits that it is a challenge most cities are facing as they want to ensure innovation is rampant without harming people in any way or form. But in true Digital Dubai element, the entity has a game-plan for anything and everything. “In Dubai safety of our people has always been our number one priority, which is why we are building testbeds for any new technology being developed. After months or years of testing we work with the legislative authorities to issue laws ensuring that innovation is not hampered, while everyone in the city always feels safe.” UNLOCKING THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF DATA Synthetic data, data that leverages artifi cial intelligence to replicate a dataset, keeping properties for data analysis intact, while ensuring private information is hidden, remains an area the entity is bullish about, in its endevour to explore how to enhance policies and practices around data exchange and privacy. “We are hoping that synthetic data will help us deliver against the goal of digitalising the economy of Dubai and its public services through the power of data. It is important to say that synthetic data can be benefi cial in two major ways - to preserve privacy of real data, and to generate data when real data is lacking,” shares Sara Al Zarooni, Director of Data Management & Compliance Aff airs, Dubai Data Establishment, Digital Dubai. Digital Dubai is hugely practical in what it is trying to achieve, as well as trying to get others to achieve with synthetic data and for good reasons. The authority has released a research report that makes the case to city leadership as well as sets out the path for data science use cases and has also unveiled an implementation framework - designed to guide data AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR STRATEGY WILL BE TO EMBED DATA DRIVEN DECISION MAKING RIGHT ACROSS GOVERNMENT. In the frame: A team meeting/brainstorming session at the Digital Dubai office. www.digitalstudiome.com20 / DECEMBER 2022COVER STORY practitioners about when and how to use synthetic data responsibly. Moreover, the entity is building a proof-of-concept synthetic data sandbox with Microsoft’s international research team to nurture a safe environment in which synthetic data can be safely created and tested on use cases. “As we have done in other areas of data governance, through the synthetic data implementation framework we are seeking to engage with the ecosystem so that awareness of the issues around synthetic data use grows, allowing us to bring further maturity to our approach,” asserts Al Zarooni. In 2021, the UAE broke into the Top 10 of the IMD Digital Competitiveness Ranking, outpacing the UK, Israel, Germany, and France. The IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking analyses and ranks countries’ ability to adopt and explore digital technologies leading to transformation in government practices, business models, and society in general. It should be noted that the government of Dubai tracks country and city-level digital performance indicators across over 15 prominent indices measuring digital competitiveness, and the UAE has consistently ranked in the top quartile of every assessment. “Digital Dubai is focusing on putting data – as the lifeblood of innovation - to work at the heart of the digital economy and eff orts to further digitalise government processes and services. This is about increasing the supply and quality of data and making sure that it is available to feed data hungry technologies like artifi cial intelligence that will power the next generation of predictive and proactive city service applications. It will also be about unleashing the true potential of analytics,” Al Zarooni hints. Interestingly, the government entity is already starting to use unique data sources providing Digital Dubai with proper big data – millions of data points delivered to them on a weekly basis so that they can understand how critical parts of the city economy, from retail to tourism, are performing. “An important part of our strategy is to embed data driven decision making right across government. We want every decision to be supported by data. As well as growing important data economy skills (e.g. in data science), we will be training government employees to be more appreciative of what data can do for their organisations’ missions.” Looking ahead, Digital Dubai is working to facilitate open data in a security conscious world by innovating and developing safe channels for both Dubai government entities and the public community. “Since 2017 we have been WITH THE DUBAI PAPERLESS STRATEGY, DIGITAL DUBAI IS NOW ANNUALLY ELIMINATING THE USE OF OVER 336 MILLION SHEETS OF PAPER EQUATING TO OVER AED 1.3 BILLION IN COST SAVINGS, 14.6 MILLION HOURS IN TIME SAVINGS AND 40,000 TREES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS EVERY YEAR. www.digitalstudiome.comDECEMBER 2022 / 21 COVER STORY providing open, non-private datasets from the Dubai Government on our data hosting platform, Dubai Pulse. As of October 2022 we have 900+ datasets on Dubai Pulse and hope to reach over 1000 by the end of the year. These cover all aspects of life in Dubai, from the economy, to society and the environment,” Al Zarooni explains. She acknowledges that while there are more complicated datasets, which can be highly valuable but highly vulnerable at the same time, there is always a tension between protecting the privacy of individuals and sensitive commercial or government information, and unlocking the innovation potential of data which the entity relentlessly works towards. “Getting the balance right is critical in an age when consumer trust of the use of their personal data is vitally important. This is why in October 2022 we launched the Synthetic Data Report & Framework – in the simplest terms synthetic data is an innovation-enhancing replacement for real world data, and a stronger alternative to traditional data anonymisation techniques. Generated data, using machine learning algorithms, allows private and public sector organisations to share and work with data that was previously held under lock and key. “ LEADING WITH UNWAVERING CONVICTION The government entity understands that while talking about digital transformation, it creates a certain degree of fear and resistance in certain segments, because it sounds like a huge leap. “To a certain degree, an evolution of this magnitude is resisted by some people, as there is the fear of the unknown,” contends Amer Sharaf, Director of Compliance Support & Alliances, Dubai Electronic Security Center, Digital Dubai. Sharaf gives the example of the 90’s when In the frame: Digital Dubai’s Dubai Now App, the first and only application that provides access to more than 120 government and private sector services from over 30 entities. IN JUST THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2022 WE SAW OVER 45,000 NEW BUSINESS LICENCES ISSUED IN DUBAI. FINTECH, Q-COMMERCE, BLOCKCHAIN AND THE METAVERSE ARE THE SECTORS WHERE WE ARE SEEING MASSIVE POTENTIAL. the internet was a new concept. “Despite all the initial trepidations, we all know what a blessing the internet has been to mankind. In Dubai we want to be leaders and not followers. Therefore we are willing to experiment, learn, and continuously improve to ensure that we are leaders in developing Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and are providing the very best quality of life and services to the residents and visitors of this city. We are very well aware of the risks of embracing city-wide digitalisation which is why one of our core-pillars is cybersecurity, to ensure that from a security perspective all city-services are resilient.” BUILDING AN EMPIRE More than ever, entrepreneurial activity is being powered by Digital Dubai’s initiatives to strengthen the link between innovative, disruptive technology, and economic growth. “Today, several Dubai government and private sector entities play a key role in supporting the digital accelerators and incubators across the city. These range from Dubai Future Foundations AREA 2071 and Dubai Future Accelerators, Dubai Silicon Oasis’ SANDBOX program, TECOM’s in5, and many more. These accelerators play a key role in identifying and supporting the local startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem,” expounds Dr.Bushra Al Blooshi, Head of Research & Innovation, Dubai Electronic Security Center, Digital Dubai. Given the support the city provides to new businesses, it is home to Middle East start up success stories, which include Careem, InstaShop, Souq.com which is now Amazon.ae, and Kitopi. “Due to the friendly legislative environment, robust infrastructure and most importantly quality of life off ered in Dubai, we are seeing an immense growth in new companies and establishments. In just the fi rst 6 months of 2022 we saw over 45,000 new business licenses issued in Dubai. FinTech, q-commerce, blockchain and the metaverse are sectors where we are seeing massive potential,” Dr Al Blooshi reveals. Apart from helping a multitude of businesses set-up and contribute to the region’s economy, one of the many reasons for Dubai Digital’s unprecedented success lies in its strategic partnerships with several global tech innovators in the public and private sector, leveraging their expertise when it comes to digital www.digitalstudiome.com22 / DECEMBER 2022COVER STORY transformation. ”Our successes this far are greatly attributed to our partnerships with other Dubai Government entities. Take the Dubai Paperless Strategy as an example, it is because of the seamless and continuous support of all Dubai Government entities that we can now proudly call ourselves a fully paperless city government.” THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT Digital Dubai’s Director of Strategy & Innovation, Dr Suwaidan notes that the private sector has played a major role in the entity’s evolution over the years Going forward, Digital Skills remains a crucial aspect of the authority’s digitalisation journey. As part of its Digital Skills pillar, Digital Dubai is going to be working with leading academic institutions, government entities, and private sector partners to upskill the local talents, whilst also working with legislative bodies to attract more talented, skilled workers to ensure that skilled talent pool in the city, further supporting startups to accelerate their innovative ideas. “We are working with schools, universities, and other digital skills providers to upskill the local talent allowing public and private sector entities to easily fi nd the talent they need.Moreover we are also working with local startups to understand key challenges they are facing to set up and grow and will build a strategy to assist them solve any issues that might hinder them,” Dr Suwaidan asserts. To support and encourage private sector entities to embrace digitalisation of services, the team has a number of initiatives planned. “We are building a digitally connected city, and in Dubai the private sector provides most of the city’s services and are also forming several committees, comprised of public and private sector entity representatives to chart out the digital future of Dubai. Together we will build the regulations, policies and infrastructure that will help establish Dubai as the digital capital of the world.” TOGETHER WE WILL BUILD THE REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL HELP ESTABLISH DUBAI AS THE DIGITAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. by providing various hardware and software solutions that have made Dubai Government incredibly infrastructurally advanced today. “The private sector will play an even greater role in the next leg of the city’s digital transformation.” To keep the momentum going, the government body is increasingly providing data center hosting companies with incentivised packages to locate to Dubai, thereby helping smaller private sector companies to leverage local cloud solution options to help them grow and scale. www.digitalstudiome.comDECEMBER 2022 / 23 ELL US ABOUT THE AI SOFTWARE R&D CENTER? The center will closely collaborate with the respective AI, software business, and academic ecosystems in Dubai and connect with the wider region to allow the company to pursue strategic partnerships, boosting digital adoption, and 4th Industrial Revolution technologies, whilst building a robust knowledge-sharing platform on the latest AI trends, technologies, and solutions. WHAT WAS THE KEY OBJECTIVE BEHIND LAUNCHING THE LATEST AI SOFTWARE R&D CENTER? As a global technology leader, and long- time trusted technology advisor in the Middle East region, Intel is pleased to expand its footprint in the UAE through the AI software R&D center. The launch of the center not only represents a ACCELERATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Dubai Internet City, a global business and technology hub, recently announced that it will house Intel’s newest artifi cial intelligence (AI) software R&D centre. Taha Khalifa, Middle East General Manager, Intel Corporation, shares insights on how Intel and the centre will closely collaborate with the respective AI, software business, and academic ecosystems in Dubai, building a robust knowledge-sharing platform on the latest AI trends and technologies, thereby aligning with the region’s digital transformation strategy T www.digitalstudiome.com24 / DECEMBER 2022TECH will contribute to that as we look forward to being a part of UAE’s vision to be a hub in key technologies as AI. HOW WILL THE AI SOFTWARE R&D CENTER SUPERCHARGE THE ROBUST REGIONAL TALENTPOOL? More than anything else, we intend to attract local talent and provide them with the platform and opportunities to showcase their skills. We will also increasingly bring in our global and regional experts to further share their knowledge with the local talent and also train them accordingly. WHAT ARE THE OTHER INITIATIVES IN THE PIPELINE FOR THE MENA MARKET? Our primary focus in the coming years is digital literacy - the key challenge we face world-wide are the lack of skills needed for the jobs that are being rapidly created. Moreover, we see this as a critical element that we as Intel need to contribute to. Interestingly, there is a study by the World Economic Forum that shows that closing the digital literacy gap worldwide would contribute more that 11 trillion dollars to the world economy so as we go forward, more than ever, we will be working closely with these digital literacy initiatives to bridge this gap and look forward to equipping the workforce for the jobs of the future. milestone in Intel’s strategy to accelerate and align with digital transformation and economic diversifi cation objectives but is also a strong opportunity to collaborate across the region’s talented and growing technology ecosystem to help drive further AI innovation to fuel global solutions for many segments including healthcare, transportation, and public safety. WHAT WILL THIS LAUNCH MEAN FOR THE OVERALL ECOSYSTEM? Intel has consistently kept up with the ever-changing technological demands of the market. Intel will use its regional and global experience to support cutting edge, latest AI products, and services for Intel’s AI portfolio. The center will work closely with the academic community to build a strong talent pool for future products and technologies, benefi ting from Dubai Internet City’s proximity to Dubai Knowledge Park and association In the frame: Taha Khalifa, the Middle East General Manager of Intel Corporation. WE INTEND TO ATTRACT LOCAL TALENT AND PROVIDE THEM WITH THE PLATFORM AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SHOWCASE THEIR SKILLS. with Dubai International Academic City. This would add to our plethora of latest products and services not only regionally but also globally. Intel will also relocate AI experts from various global offi ces to bring international tech talent and skills into the community. HOW DOES THE LAUNCH FIT IN INTEL’S OVERALL BUSINESS PLAN? We have a very well-established strategy for the region which aims to align with the region’s visions on digital transformations, economic diversifi cation, and knowledge economy. We have been working closely with the governments, various partners in the industry, and the academia to promote this strategy in the region and are confi dent that the opening of this centre www.digitalstudiome.comDECEMBER 2022 / 25 ITH THE YASALAM AFTER-RACE CONCERTS TAKING PLACE EVERY YEAR, HOW DID FLASH ENTERTAINMENT PLAN TO LEVEL UP THE EVENT THIS YEAR? The annual Yasalam After-Race Concerts series, which runs in conjunction with the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is a huge entertainment event bringing AAA artists to Abu Dhabi for the fi nal race of the Formula One season. At Flash Entertainment, we are constantly looking to raise the bar with the event we organise and produce, and to be sure, this one is no diff erent either. For this year’s Yasalam we implemented considerable design changes in the overall look and feel of the stage systems at Etihad Park, the region’s largest outdoor event venue, aligned of course with visiting production needs. SETTING THE STAGE The F1 weekend encompasses so much more than just ‘cars going round a track.’ One such aspect is the Abu Dhabi’s Yasalam After Race Concerts, an electrifying mix of triple A, off-track on-tracks talent, that is jetted in the capital to perform for one night only after each day’s motorsport sessions. Haider Shukry, Vice President Operations, Flash Entertainment, the company behind the power- packed event gives us an exclusive glimpse of bringing to life the visual spectacle featuring an all- star lineup of international music icons all weekend long, platinum-recording rapper, Dave, world famous super-group, Swedish House Mafi a, 14- time Grammy Award winner, Kendrick Lamar, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legends, Def Leppard W EVENT www.digitalstudiome.com26 / DECEMBER 2022LIVE EVENT this time which puts a substantial strain on the resources available in the market, but again our team thrives in this kind of environment and never fails to deliver as all these touch-points are skillfully planned well in advance to avoid any last- minute hindrances. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OPERATIONAL PROTOCOLS THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF ENSURING SAFETY, GIVEN THE RECORD-BREAKING SCALE OF THE EVENT? Very strict operational procedures were followed by all staff and contractors on site. All contractor documentation was asked to be submitted prior to mobilisation, and we also included, clearly stated RAMS which needed to be approved prior to any work even being started at Etihad Park. In addition, given the events of the past two years, we strictly follow the current Covid guidelines set out by local authorities, and ensure they are always observed. As these are of a dynamic nature, we anticipate any updates and roll them out to the letter. With the potential of such large crowds, security and medical deployments was carefully planned and calculated based on the size and type of event being held. With Yasalam, we experience large attendance at the venue across all four nights, so all precautions were consistently taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all staff and attendees. We knew that the audience would be absolutely blown away by them! Moreover, this year we have also worked on really revamping the venue’s lighting, water, and power infrastructure as a part of our commitment to really enhance our operational ecological footprint. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE CONSIDERATIONS AND CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH ORGANISING SUCH A LARGE- SCALE EVENT WITH WORLD FAMOUS ARTISTS LIKE KENDRICK LAMAR AND SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA? Hosting an event like Yasalam, which has consecutive show days, has its challenges that we revel in overcoming. With our dedication to bringing AAA talent to the region being a priority; this comes with extremely high standards from artists In the frame: Haider Shukry, Vice President Operations, Flash Entertainment. FOR THIS YEAR’S YASALAM WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED CONSIDERABLE DESIGN CHANGES IN THE OVERALL LOOK AND FEEL OF THE STAGE SYSTEMS AT ETIHAD PARK, THE REGION’S LARGEST OUTDOOR EVENT VENUE, ALIGNED OF COURSE WITH VISITING PRODUCTION NEEDS. and their production teams. We work tirelessly to ensure they are satisfi ed with our ability to reproduce their shows using local suppliers as well as top-notch equipment Yasalam is all about embracing the thrill of the race as well as catering to the diverse culture in the UAE and international visitors. The genres over the four days can be rather diff erent and creating an AVL design that encompasses the requirements of such varied performances are what our seasoned local technical and production teams thrive on which we paid extra attention to. With the F1 weekend being so close in the calendar to the UAE National Day and other staple large-scale events, Yasalam is obviously not the only event happening around www.digitalstudiome.comDECEMBER 2022 / 27 THE NEW FRONTIERS OF SUBTITLING What does the future for subtitling, audio dubbing, and closed captions look like? With OTT and social media platforms relying heavily on connecting audiences from world over and breaking down language barriers, Zaynab Kamran chats with industry players involved in the automation behind subtitling, translations, and audio-dubbing in fi lm and streaming, to explore how new technology in the space is making content more accessible to the industry and viewers alike SPOTLIGHT www.digitalstudiome.com28 /DECEMBER 2022SPOTLIGHT only incremental costs with surprisingly high quality and speed,” shares Bill Bennet of ENCO Systems, a provider of automatic captioning and translations. “What’s fascinating about artifi cial intelligence is how good it’s getting at automatically generating subtitles from speech.” It should be noted that the better products use grammatical analysis on sentence structure to help better predict proper spelling of words that have several sound-alike spellings. And even more advanced is the trend in real-time translation from one language into many other languages simultaneously. “Automatic speech recognition (ASR) and other ML technologies enable streaming providers to realise tremendous effi ciencies in their media captioning and subtitling workfl ows, including faster reviewing, reduced turnaround time, and lower costs,” adds Bibhas Samanta, AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION AND OTHER ML TECHNOLOGIES ENABLE STREAMING PROVIDERS TO REALISE TREMENDOUS EFFICIENCIES IN THEIR MEDIA CAPTIONING AND SUBTITLING WORKFLOWS, INCLUDING FASTER REVIEWING, REDUCED TURNAROUND TIME, AND LOWER COSTS. I n an increasingly globalised world, the need to connect and understand one another has never been more necessary. The requirement that everyone has access to media and entertainment content in their native language has multiplied signifi cantly alongside the demand for automated captions and subtitles, translations, and audio dubbing in as many languages as possible. All this can be credited to the back-end technology that has become more effi cient than ever to meet this overwhelming demand. Historically, captioning and subtitling have been time-intensive manual processes. However, now that OTT service providers are managing a massive amount of streamed content for a global audience, the tide is turning toward automated solutions. “AI and ML technology enables this on a massive, automated scale with www.digitalstudiome.comDECEMBER 2022 / 29 Next >