Arab News

DUBAI: When it comes to ambition to cultivate artificial intelligence in the Arab world, the sky is the only limit, the head of Dubai Future Foundation said on Monday night.

“I think there’s an abundance of talent around the Arab world. It’s just a matter of enabling the talent and creating the right ecosystem for talent to thrive,” said Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the DFF.

“The digital economy requires specific skill sets. And I think we’re seeing so many success stories that are happening, whether it’s on the entrepreneurial side or whether it’s on the coding front.

“The sky’s the limit on where the Arab world can reach. The numbers are rising on the digital economy point of view and we are very optimistic.”

Belhoul outlined several key predictions for media over the next year, from the shift in how people consume media, to its duration.

During the event, which was part of a series of celebrations for the newspaper’s 50th anniversary, Arab News unveiled a new podcast series exploring five decades of pivotal events that have shaped the Middle East.

The project, powered by Google’s AI research tool NotebookLM, features artificial hosts and AI-generated voices, show how emerging technologies can enhance storytelling, research, and historical reflection in journalism.

Each episode highlights a different decade, tracing key moments from 1975 to the present day.