General AI research publications from MBZUAI, KAUST, TII, QCRI, and other GCC institutions, including conference papers, journal articles, and preprints.
Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has launched the UAE's first Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) software library, developed by the Cryptography Research Center (CRC). The library, written in C, supports various computer architectures and operating systems and has been integrated into secure communication products. It includes algorithms designed to protect against attacks by quantum computers, which threaten classic cryptographic methods. Why it matters: This launch positions the UAE among nations with advanced digital security capabilities, enhancing data confidentiality and security in the face of emerging quantum computing threats.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi announced its Quantum Research Center (QRC) will build the UAE’s first quantum computer in collaboration with Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. The computer will use superconducting qubits, the same technology used by Google and IBM. The first quantum chips are expected by the end of summer. Why it matters: This project positions the UAE as a leader in quantum computing research and development in the Middle East, potentially enabling breakthroughs in medicine, materials science, and AI.
TII's Secure Systems Research Center (SSRC) has partnered with Purdue University on a three-year cybersecurity project focused on ensuring the safe and efficient use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments. The collaboration will study security and resilience in cyber-physical and autonomous systems, addressing vulnerabilities in communication, navigation, and command and control. The project includes four phases: modeling and analysis of UAS security, developing algorithms for high-assurance autonomy, constructing an experimental environment, and testing mitigation strategies. Why it matters: The partnership enhances the UAE's capabilities in securing critical digital systems and fosters the growth of commercial autonomous drones and robots, opening new opportunities for enterprises.
Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) announced that its Cryptography Research Center (CRC) has developed the UAE’s first national crypto library. The library is designed to protect sensitive data using custom symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic primitives. It will be integrated into the UAE’s critical digital infrastructure across sectors like finance, healthcare, and telecommunications. Why it matters: This establishes sovereign capability in cryptography and enhances security levels against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks in the UAE.
TII and Virgin Hyperloop have announced a research and development partnership to advance hyperloop technology in the UAE. The collaboration will focus on pulsed power, magnetic levitation, and material sciences at TII's premises. The partnership involves cooperation between TII’s Directed Energy Research Center (DERC), Autonomous Robotics Research Center (ARRC) and Advanced Materials Research Center (AMRC). Why it matters: This partnership strengthens the UAE's position as a global research hub for advanced transportation and sustainable energy solutions, potentially driving economic growth and innovation in the region.
The Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has launched ASPIRE, a technology program management pillar to drive the creation of transformative technologies. ASPIRE will define problem statements, set milestones, allocate funding, and launch grand challenges to facilitate a path from lab to market. ASPIRE will also run the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) and launch a global competition in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation. Why it matters: This initiative strengthens Abu Dhabi and the UAE's position as an international hub for advanced technology research and development, fostering innovation and contributing to a knowledge-based economy.
Abu Dhabi has launched the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) as the applied research arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). TII will focus on seven initial research centers including quantum research, autonomous robotics, and cryptography. The institute has already partnered with over 20 universities on 25 long-term projects, aiming to establish Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a global hub for advanced technology research. Why it matters: This initiative signals a major investment in R&D infrastructure and talent recruitment, potentially accelerating technological advancements and diversifying the UAE's economy.
Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) held its first board meeting, led by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to establish R&D priorities for the emirate. ATRC will focus on fostering public-private partnerships, creating talent development programs, and aligning investments in scientific inquiry. The council ratified seven priority areas: quantum, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy, and secure systems. Why it matters: This initiative signals Abu Dhabi's commitment to becoming a hub for advanced technology research and development, with a focus on attracting global talent and fostering innovation in key technological areas.
Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has launched Falcon-H1 Arabic, a new large language model based on a hybrid Mamba-Transformer architecture. The Falcon-H1 family comes in 3B, 7B, and 34B parameter sizes and outperforms existing models on the Open Arabic LLM Leaderboard (OALL). The model features improvements in data quality, dialect coverage, and long-context stability. Why it matters: This release strengthens the UAE's position in Arabic AI and provides a high-performing model tailored to the linguistic and cultural needs of the region.
Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has launched Falcon H1R 7B, an open-source 7B parameter AI model with reasoning capabilities. It outperforms larger models like Microsoft Phi 4 Reasoning Plus 14B, Alibaba Qwen3 32B, and NVIDIA Nemotron H 47B on key benchmarks. The model uses a hybrid Transformer–Mamba architecture for improved accuracy and speed and is available on Hugging Face under the Falcon TII License. Why it matters: This release highlights the UAE's growing role in AI innovation by providing an efficient and accessible model for global research and development.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and Resource Industries have partnered to integrate autonomous air system technologies into operational defense platforms. The collaboration will embed TII's research, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and radio frequency (RF) magnetic mapping, into Resource Industries' aerial platforms. The aim is to enhance intelligence gathering and decision-making in complex environments. Why it matters: This partnership signifies the UAE's commitment to advancing its defense capabilities through indigenous innovation and autonomous systems, aligning with national strategies for technological advancement.
Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and Qualcomm Technologies are collaborating to advance edge-AI and autonomous solutions. The partnership will combine TII's robotics expertise with Qualcomm's edge-computing platforms to develop intelligent systems for complex environments. TII will explore Qualcomm's Dragonwing IQ9 and IQ10 platforms to build robots for sectors like energy, mining, construction, and smart cities. Why it matters: This collaboration strengthens the UAE's position in developing advanced autonomous systems and edge-AI technologies for critical industries, fostering innovation and economic growth.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi has launched a cloud service providing access to its in-house Quantum Processing Units (QPUs), which range from 5 to 25 qubits. Initially available to TII partners, the service allows users to run quantum workloads on TII’s quantum hardware via the cloud, using the open-source Qibo framework as the software layer. These QPUs feature in-house fabricated chips and demonstrate quantum coherence times up to ten times longer than TII's first-generation prototypes. Why it matters: This launch provides a platform for experimentation and development of hybrid quantum-classical workflows on locally developed infrastructure, accelerating quantum research in the region.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have signed a collaboration agreement to deepen strategic collaboration in research, education, and talent development. The partnership includes a Research and Development Sponsorship Agreement and a Framework Fellowship Program Agreement. TII and NYUAD will collaborate on joint research projects across areas like AI, robotics, and quantum science, and TII will sponsor NYUAD students for research in priority technology domains. Why it matters: The partnership aims to bridge fundamental research with real-world applications, accelerate scientific discovery, and develop a pipeline of skilled researchers in Abu Dhabi.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi has launched a cloud API providing access to quantum-inspired algorithms developed by its Quantum Research Center (QRC). The platform offers a testbed for partners to evaluate and build proof-of-concept applications, with the first algorithm being a quantum annealing emulator. Access is provided through two interfaces, enabling large-scale classical simulations and supporting the solution of combinatorial optimization problems. Why it matters: This initiative expands TII's quantum ecosystem and facilitates applied research and early-stage industry experimentation with advanced computational methods in the GCC region.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi has integrated its Quantum Computing Cloud Platform with NVIDIA CUDA-Q. This allows global researchers to submit quantum jobs to TII's physical quantum hardware and simulators using the CUDA-Q programming interface. The integration provides a unified "write-once, run-anywhere" experience for quantum job submission. Why it matters: This partnership enhances the accessibility and performance of TII's quantum computing resources, integrating the UAE's quantum capabilities into the global high-performance computing landscape.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with NVIDIA, has demonstrated large-scale simulations of the adiabatic quantum annealing (QA) algorithm for problem instances involving up to 500,000 qubits. TII's simulator achieved solution quality exceeding that of all solvers evaluated from the MQLib repository, a library for combinatorial optimization benchmarking. The emulator is accessible to external users via an experimental cloud platform hosted at https://q-inspired.tii.ae. Why it matters: This collaboration expands the range of complex optimization problems that can be investigated using quantum-inspired approaches, beyond those currently achievable with near-term quantum hardware.
The paper introduces SectEval, a new benchmark to evaluate sectarian biases in LLMs concerning Sunni and Shia Islam, available in English and Hindi. Results show significant inconsistencies in LLM responses based on language, with some models favoring Shia responses in English but Sunni in Hindi. Location-based experiments further reveal that advanced models adapt their responses based on the user's claimed country, while smaller models exhibit a consistent Sunni-leaning bias.
A KAUST-led study in *Nature Ecology & Evolution* finds that plant species diversity is the strongest predictor of dryland ecosystem resistance to grazing pressure, outperforming climate and soil factors. Analyzing 73 sites across 25 countries, researchers found that diverse plant communities better maintain vegetation cover under grazing. This is attributed to varied species responses distributing grazing pressure and buffering vegetation loss. Why it matters: The findings highlight the importance of biodiversity in maintaining the productivity and stability of dryland ecosystems, which support half of global livestock production and a billion people's livelihoods.
This study introduces a reinforcement learning (RL) framework using Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) to optimize the cleaning schedules of photovoltaic panels in arid regions. Applied to a case study in Abu Dhabi, the PPO-based framework demonstrated up to 13% cost savings compared to simulation optimization methods by dynamically adjusting cleaning intervals based on environmental conditions. The research highlights the potential of RL in enhancing the efficiency and reducing the operational costs of solar power generation.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is collaborating with Turkmenistan to formulate a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy. This initiative aims to leverage AI for sustainable digital transformation across various sectors and contribute to achieving the country's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The strategy development involves a multi-stakeholder approach, encompassing government, academia, civil society, and the private sector in Turkmenistan. Why it matters: This effort reflects a global trend where international organizations support nations in developing comprehensive AI frameworks to drive economic growth and societal progress.
This paper introduces ADR-VINS, a monocular visual-inertial state estimation framework based on an Error-State Kalman Filter (ESKF) designed for autonomous drone racing, integrating direct pixel reprojection errors from gate corners as innovation terms. It also introduces ADR-FGO, an offline Factor-Graph Optimization framework for generating high-fidelity reference trajectories for post-flight evaluation in GNSS-denied environments. Validated on the TII-RATM dataset, ADR-VINS achieved an average RMS translation error of 0.134 m and was successfully deployed in the A2RL Drone Championship Season 2. Why it matters: The framework provides a robust and efficient solution for drone state estimation in challenging racing environments, and enables performance evaluation without relying on external localization systems.
MBZUAI researchers have developed an automatic interview system that uses LLMs to elicit nuanced, role-specific information from job candidates, improving early-stage hiring decisions. The system updates its belief about an applicant's rubric-oriented latent traits in a calibrated way based on their interview performance. Evaluation on simulated interviews showed the system's belief converges towards the simulated applicants' constructed ability levels.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has published an analysis examining the geopolitical implications of conflict in the Gulf region. The analysis posits that if 'compute' is considered the new oil, then potential war in the Gulf significantly elevates the stakes for the global technology landscape. This perspective highlights the critical intersection of energy resources, advanced technology infrastructure, and regional stability. Why it matters: This analysis is significant for the Middle East as it underscores the strategic importance of the region's burgeoning AI infrastructure investments amidst geopolitical risks.
Saudi Arabia has officially joined a global AI alliance, as reported by Arab News. This membership signifies the Kingdom's commitment to fostering international collaboration and contributing to the advancement of artificial intelligence on a global scale. Such alliances typically involve sharing best practices, developing ethical guidelines, and participating in joint research initiatives among member nations. Why it matters: This move is expected to enhance Saudi Arabia's standing in the international AI community and accelerate its own AI development through knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships.
The paper introduces ILION, a deterministic execution gate designed to ensure the safety of autonomous AI agents by classifying proposed actions as either BLOCK or ALLOW. ILION uses a five-component cascade architecture that operates without statistical training, API dependencies, or labeled data. Evaluation against existing text-safety infrastructures demonstrates ILION's superior performance in preventing unauthorized actions, achieving an F1 score of 0.8515 with sub-millisecond latency.
The United Arab Emirates is set to host the Artificial Intelligence Summit in 2028, as reported by Sharjah24. This announcement positions the UAE as a future global hub for discussions and advancements in AI. The summit is expected to bring together international experts and stakeholders in the field. Why it matters: Hosting such a significant global event reinforces the UAE's ambition to be a leading hub for AI innovation and discussion in the Middle East and globally.
The paper introduces ArabicNumBench, a benchmark for evaluating LLMs on Arabic number reading using both Eastern and Western Arabic numerals. It evaluates 71 models from 10 providers on 210 number reading tasks, using zero-shot, zero-shot CoT, few-shot, and few-shot CoT prompting strategies. The results show substantial performance variation, with few-shot CoT prompting achieving 2.8x higher accuracy than zero-shot approaches. Why it matters: The benchmark establishes baselines for Arabic number comprehension and provides guidance for model selection in production Arabic NLP systems.
The President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) announced that Saudi Arabia is actively working towards establishing an integrated AI ecosystem. This strategic initiative involves consolidating efforts across various national sectors to create a comprehensive and robust environment for artificial intelligence development. The statement underscores the kingdom's long-term vision for leveraging AI to drive economic diversification and innovation. Why it matters: This high-level declaration from the national AI authority reinforces Saudi Arabia's strategic commitment to becoming a leading hub in AI, influencing regional technological advancements and investment.
The paper introduces ALPS (Arabic Linguistic & Pragmatic Suite), a diagnostic challenge set for evaluating deep semantics and pragmatics in Arabic NLP. The dataset contains 531 expert-curated questions across 15 tasks and 47 subtasks, designed to test morpho-syntactic dependencies and compositional semantics. Evaluation of 23 models, including commercial, open-source, and Arabic-native models, reveals that models struggle with fundamental morpho-syntactic dependencies, especially those reliant on diacritics. Why it matters: ALPS provides a valuable benchmark for evaluating the linguistic competence of Arabic NLP models, highlighting areas where current models fall short despite achieving high fluency.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will lead the United Arab Emirates delegation to the upcoming AI Impact Summit in India. This high-profile participation signifies the UAE's commitment to advancing its national artificial intelligence agenda. The summit is expected to foster discussions on AI's global impact and potential areas for international collaboration. Why it matters: This participation underscores the UAE's strategic focus on AI and its proactive engagement in shaping global AI development and partnerships.
Professor Mohamed-Slim Alouini of KAUST has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to wireless communication systems. Alouini is the first faculty member elected to the NAE while serving at KAUST, and his work focuses on non-terrestrial networks. He aims to extend connectivity to underserved regions and support applications like emergency response and environmental monitoring. Why it matters: This recognition highlights KAUST's ability to attract world-leading scholars and contributes to Saudi Vision 2030 by translating research into real-world impact.
Arabic Language Models (LMs) are primarily pretrained on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), with an expectation of transferring to diverse Arabic dialects for real-world applications. This work explores cross-lingual transfer in Arabic LMs using probing on three Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks and representational similarity. The findings indicate that transfer is possible but disproportionate across dialects, with some evidence of negative interference in models trained to support all Arabic dialects. Why it matters: This research highlights crucial challenges for building robust Arabic AI systems that effectively handle the significant linguistic diversity of the Arab world.
KAUST has been selected as the first FIFA Research Institute in the Middle East and Asia. KAUST will apply its research expertise to advance football-related studies, initially focusing on developing datasets that enable deeper insights into the game. The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, while the second project leverages player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022™ Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Australia & New Zealand. Why it matters: This partnership strengthens the intersection of sport, academia, and industry in the region through high-impact scientific inquiry.
Saudi Arabia is participating in the drafting process of the International AI Safety Report, which is slated for release in 2026. This involvement underscores the Kingdom's commitment to global AI governance and the development of responsible AI standards. The initiative aims to establish unified international guidelines for the safe deployment and use of artificial intelligence technologies. Why it matters: Saudi Arabia's active role in shaping this crucial international document positions it as a key contributor to global AI policy and helps advance its strategic vision for a secure and ethical AI future.
KAUST and NADEC have signed an MoU to collaborate on agricultural research, technology development, and professional training to enhance Saudi Arabia's food systems. The partnership aims to translate scientific insights into practical solutions for a resilient and stable food and agriculture sector. KAUST researchers will gain access to NADEC's fields to test and scale solutions. Why it matters: This collaboration between a leading research university and a major agricultural company can accelerate innovation in sustainable food production, addressing critical challenges like water scarcity and rising temperatures in the region.
The National Interest analyzes the varied strategic approaches taken by Gulf nations in forming AI infrastructure partnerships, noting that not all global tech partners are viewed equally. The article discusses how some Gulf countries prioritize specific international collaborations based on national interests and geopolitical alignments. It highlights the implications of these diverse partnerships for the region's technological development and global power dynamics. Why it matters: These strategic alliances are crucial for shaping the future of AI development and digital sovereignty in the Middle East amidst intensifying global technological competition.
Qatar Foundation (QF) has announced a partnership with Scale AI, a leading data platform for artificial intelligence. The collaboration aims to accelerate innovation and foster tech talent development within Qatar's AI ecosystem. This initiative will leverage Scale AI's expertise in data infrastructure and model development to support QF's research and education efforts. Why it matters: This partnership strengthens Qatar's position as an emerging AI hub by integrating global AI expertise to cultivate local talent and drive technological advancement.
The paper introduces SalamahBench, a new benchmark for evaluating the safety of Arabic Language Models (ALMs). The benchmark comprises 8,170 prompts across 12 categories aligned with the MLCommons Safety Hazard Taxonomy. Five state-of-the-art ALMs, including Fanar 1 and 2, ALLaM 2, Falcon H1R, and Jais 2, were evaluated using the benchmark. Why it matters: The benchmark enables standardized, category-aware safety evaluation, highlighting the necessity of specialized safeguard mechanisms for robust harm mitigation in ALMs.
The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) has launched a national curriculum focused on data and artificial intelligence. This initiative aims to develop local talent and capabilities across various educational levels within the Kingdom. The curriculum is designed to equip the Saudi workforce with essential skills for the future digital economy. Why it matters: This curriculum represents a strategic effort by Saudi Arabia to build a skilled workforce, crucial for advancing its national AI agenda and diversifying its economy.
Researchers at KAUST have developed a new polymer membrane for desalination that operates at ambient temperature and pressure. The membrane achieves high salt rejection with lower energy demand compared to conventional methods. It is currently being tested at pilot scale at KAUST. Why it matters: This technology could improve water sustainability and reduce energy consumption in desalination, addressing critical water challenges in arid regions like Saudi Arabia.
MBZUAI researchers introduce DuwatBench, a new benchmark for multimodal understanding of Arabic calligraphy. The dataset contains 1,272 samples across six calligraphic styles with detailed annotations to evaluate visual-text alignment. Evaluation of 13 multimodal models reveals challenges in processing calligraphic variations and artistic distortions, highlighting the need for culturally grounded AI research.
A national survey in Saudi Arabia of 330 participants reveals that 93% are actively using Generative AI, primarily for text-based tasks, while awareness and understanding remain uneven. Participants recognize benefits like productivity but caution against risks such as privacy, misinformation, and ethical misuse. The study highlights the need for AI literacy, culturally aligned solutions, and stronger frameworks for responsible deployment in Saudi Arabia.
The UAE has reportedly asserted its position as a global leader in the fields of autonomous systems and future engineering. This claim of leadership was highlighted by the Emirates News Agency (wam.ae). The announcement underscores the nation's strategic focus on pioneering advanced technological development. Why it matters: This statement reflects the UAE's ambitious national strategy to be at the forefront of emerging technologies and attract related investment and talent.
The paper presents MonoRace, an onboard drone racing approach using a monocular camera and IMU. The system combines neural-network-based gate segmentation with a drone model for robust state estimation, along with offline optimization using gate geometry. MonoRace won the 2025 Abu Dhabi Autonomous Drone Racing Competition (A2RL), outperforming AI teams and human world champions, reaching speeds up to 100 km/h. Why it matters: This demonstrates a significant advancement in autonomous drone racing, achieving champion-level performance with a resource-efficient monocular system, validated in a real-world competition setting in the UAE.
KAUST has established the KAUST Quantum Foundry to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s ability to fabricate commercial quantum hardware. It will provide shared access to KAUST quantum cleanrooms, supporting device prototyping and process development. The Foundry will focus on process standardization and the development of Process Design Kits (PDKs) to enable researchers to design and fabricate devices. Why it matters: This initiative reinforces KAUST's role as a national hub for advanced research infrastructure and supports Saudi Arabia’s long-term innovation priorities in quantum technologies.
This paper introduces a hybrid deep learning and machine learning pipeline for classifying construction and demolition waste. A dataset of 1,800 images from UAE construction sites was created, and deep features were extracted using a pre-trained Xception network. The combination of Xception features with machine learning classifiers achieved up to 99.5% accuracy, demonstrating state-of-the-art performance for debris identification.
The paper introduces Yet another Policy Optimization (YaPO), a reference-free method for learning sparse steering vectors in the latent space of a Sparse Autoencoder (SAE) to steer LLMs. By optimizing sparse codes, YaPO produces disentangled, interpretable, and efficient steering directions. Experiments show YaPO converges faster, achieves stronger performance, exhibits improved training stability and preserves general knowledge compared to dense steering baselines.
This paper introduces an explainable machine learning framework for early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening, specifically designed for low-resource settings in Bangladesh and South Asia. The framework utilizes a community-based dataset from Bangladesh and evaluates multiple ML classifiers with feature selection techniques. Results show that the ML models achieve high accuracy and sensitivity, outperforming existing screening tools and demonstrating strong generalizability across independent datasets from India, the UAE, and Bangladesh.
The paper introduces Ara-HOPE, a human-centric post-editing evaluation framework for Dialectal Arabic to Modern Standard Arabic (DA-MSA) translation. Ara-HOPE includes a five-category error taxonomy and a decision-tree annotation protocol designed to address the challenges of dialect-specific MT errors. Evaluation of Jais, GPT-3.5, and NLLB-200 shows dialect-specific terminology and semantic preservation remain key challenges. Why it matters: The new framework and public dataset will help improve the evaluation and development of dialect-aware MT systems for Arabic.