A Tale of Two Strategies: UK’s Public AI Access vs. UAE’s National Deal

The UK and the United Arab Emirates represent two different strategic approaches to national AI implementation, highlighted by their respective engagements with OpenAI. While the UAE has agreed to a deal to “enable ChatGPT nationwide,” the UK ultimately stepped back from a similar, but more costly, proposal.
The UAE’s partnership with OpenAI focuses on using the technology across public sectors, positioning the country as a pioneer in government-led AI adoption. This move reflects the UAE’s ability to make swift, top-down decisions and invest heavily in strategic technologies.
In contrast, the UK’s experience shows a more cautious and financially constrained approach. A potential £2 billion deal to provide ChatGPT Plus to the public was discussed but deemed unfeasible. Instead, the UK has opted for a non-binding agreement to explore AI’s use in public services, a more incremental and less financially committed path.
This comparison underscores the different political and economic contexts in which AI policy is being made. While both nations share the goal of becoming AI leaders, their paths to achieving it are diverging, with one pursuing a bold, comprehensive rollout and the other a more piecemeal, pragmatic integration.