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Dubai launches virtual ‘Emirati Family’

Aug 4, 2025, 8:50am EDT
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First member of AI-generated Emirati “virtual family.”
@DXBMediaOffice/X

Dubai has a lot going for it: solid infrastructure, a strong economy, a viral chocolate. And now, a digital family.

The city’s digital services arm is introducing virtual Emiratis to promote its AI strategy, starting with a little girl asking the public to name her — Dubai, Latifa, or Mira.

While the avatars won’t have an impact on artificial general intelligence research, they do highlight the UAE’s ambitions to lead the AI race. A recent study ranked Dubai among the top five cities adopting the technology, ahead of San Francisco, and US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told media company IMI’s Chief International Anchor Hadley Gamble that Washington views the UAE as a preferred partner to develop AI infrastructure and applications.

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