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Wearable robots, newborn screening: How AI is transforming lives in the UAE
While the promise is extraordinary, experts stressed that such advances must be matched with robust safeguards
- PUBLISHED: Thu 15 Jan 2026, 7:21 PM UPDATED: Thu 15 Jan 2026, 8:48 PM
- By:
- Nasreen Abdulla
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In Abu Dhabi, a newborn’s life can now be saved even before any symptoms ever appear. This is thanks to an AI-enabled genetic screening programme, which was introduced in 2025 and is helping doctors identify rare conditions in infants within their first weeks of life, allowing treatment to begin early and preventing complications that once went undetected until it was too late.
For several families, the intervention has already meant the difference between lifelong illness and a healthy future.
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“In the very first month when we deployed it, there were three successful stories,” said Ebtesam Almazrouei, CEO and Founder of AIE3 and chairperson of the UN's AI for Good Impact Initiative. “This is a very good example of how we can use AI for health care services or even for research in medicine, like coming up with a new drug discovery. That is innovation at its finest, using AI, big data analytics and machine learning.”
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Ebtesam was speaking at a panel discussion about using AI for positive social impact at the Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF) organised by the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
Wearable robots
Another speaker on the panel, American biophysicist and Professor at MIT Media Lab, Hugh Herr, explained how his team had developed technology that connects the human brain to wearable robots. “With the limbs that we develop, a person can think and control the robotic limbs,” he said. “They can feel the limb movement as per reception, and when they touch a surface as a cutaneous response. We're fusing electromechanics with human biology.”
He also shared how he was a prodigy rock climber but had to have both his legs amputated at the age of 17 when he and his climbing partner was hit by a vicious storm. He now relies on bionics to walk and said that he believes in the near future, a bionic hand will be stronger than a human hand.
Safeguards
While the promise is extraordinary, the panel stressed that such advances must be matched with robust safeguards. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Government Cyber Security Council, outlined how the country is approaching AI governance not as a barrier, but as an enabler of trust.
“Our goal is to innovate safely,” he said, pointing to national cybersecurity strategies built on governance, capability building, partnerships and public awareness. “The first line of defence is still the people — the human beings dealing with these technological aspects.”
He added that AI has also caused cyber threats to evolve and fall into three main categories: cybercrime, cyberterrorism and cyber warfare. In such a scenario, protecting critical infrastructure, including healthcare systems and energy networks, has become a national priority.
The 11th edition of the forum brought together hundreds of experts from around the world to accelerate the ideas that shape cities and industries. Hanny Alshazly, Managing Director of MENA, Project Management Institute, said that he hoped such events would help bridge the talent gap in the field. “By 2035, around 600,000 project management professionals will be needed in this region alone,” he said. “We are working with the leadership to see how best to elevate standards and support our community.”
