UAE turns to AI for drafting future laws

UAE plans to use artificial intelligence to draft, review, and amend laws

The United Arab Emirates is at the forefront of artificial intelligence with a strategy to utilise the technology not just to write but also to review and revise its legislations. The project, billed by state media as "AI-driven regulation," would potentially place the UAE at the forefront of nations that use AI so comprehensively in the legislative process. Governments around the globe are only experimenting with AI for enhancing efficiency, and none have gone as far as deploying it to suggest legal amendments, according to researchers, the Financial Times reported.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai and UAE vice-president ruler, announced the new system would ensure lawmaking "faster and more precise." A specialised new cabinet agency, the Regulatory Intelligence Office, will spearhead the drive.

From assistant to co-legislator

Experts call the development a giant step beyond existing applications of AI in government. It is "very bold," Copenhagen Business School's Rony Medaglia described it, while Oxford's Vincent Straub commented the UAE was bringing AI from the role of an assistant to being able to predict legislative requirements. The AI will operate from an extensive database of federal and municipal laws, court decisions, and government services information to recommend updates to the rules. The government hopes that will speed up the law-making process by 70%.

Possible dangers and obstacles

Nonetheless, there are reservations. AI solutions continue to experience problems such as hallucination, decision-making opaqueness, and bias relating to training data. Scientists point out that AI may misunderstand the law or advance unfeasible recommendations that "make sense to a machine" but not a society.

Oxford Internet Institute's Keegan McBride explained that the UAE's centralised system allows for such experimentation that democratic nations cannot. Nevertheless, even in the UAE, experts point out the necessity of safeguards and human intervention. Marina De Vos, a computer scientist at Bath University, explained that without well-defined guardrails, AI might provide impractical or even harmful policy recommendations.

Looking ahead

Information is still sketchy, such as which AI system is going to be used by the UAE. Specialists think that several models could be used for the diversity of legal intricacies. However, the UAE's initiative has brought it to the forefront of experimentation in AI governance, demonstrating its eagerness to excel not merely in investment in technology but also in engineering how contemporary states are governed.