{"slug":"uae","name":"United Arab Emirates","short_name":"UAE","iso_code":"AE","jurisdiction_type":"country","region":"Asia","subregion":"Western Asia","overview":"The United Arab Emirates governs AI mainly through national strategy and principles rather than a dedicated AI statute. The UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, overseen by the Minister of State for AI, sets the direction; the AI Ethics Principles and Guidelines and the 2024 UAE Charter for the Development and Use of AI set out expectations; and the Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection provides binding rules for personal data, including automated decision-making. Financial free zones (DIFC and ADGM) have their own data-protection regimes with specific provisions on autonomous and semi-autonomous systems.\n","regulatory_status_summary":"No binding federal AI law; national AI strategy and ethics guidance in place; binding personal-data rules at federal level and in the DIFC and ADGM free zones. A reviewer must confirm the current status of any AI-specific regulation announced by the UAE's regulatory intelligence office or the Regulations Lab.\n","binding_vs_guidance":"Binding: Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (PDPL) and its executive regulations when issued, DIFC Data Protection Law and Regulation 10 (autonomous systems), ADGM Data Protection Regulations, sector rules (Central Bank, TDRA). Guidance: National AI Strategy 2031, AI Ethics Principles and Guidelines, UAE AI Charter, AI adoption guidelines.\n","current_priorities":"AI adoption across government, AI in education, sovereign compute and models, a regulatory framework through the Regulations Lab, and international AI partnerships.\n","regulators":[{"name":"Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications","url":"https://ai.gov.ae/","role":"National AI strategy and governance"},{"name":"UAE Data Office","url":"https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/data/data-protection","role":"Federal personal data protection"},{"name":"DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection","url":"https://www.difc.ae/","role":"DIFC data protection, including autonomous systems regulation"}],"official_sources":[{"title":"UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031","publisher":"UAE Government, Office of the Minister of State for AI","url":"https://ai.gov.ae/","document_date":null,"document_type":"strategy","tier":1},{"title":"Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection","publisher":"UAE Government portal","url":"https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/data/data-protection","document_date":"2021-09-20","document_type":"legislation","tier":1}],"related_jurisdictions":["india","singapore","eu"],"url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/jurisdictions/uae","source":{"official_source_url":"https://ai.gov.ae/","source_title":"UAE Artificial Intelligence — official portal","source_publisher":"UAE Government","source_document_date":null,"source_reference":"Document-level URLs to be confirmed by reviewer","source_tier":1,"last_checked_at":"2026-09-26","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26","review_status":"verified","confidence_level":"medium","content_version":1,"change_summary":"Initial structured record.","reviewed_by":"Bhaskar Bhatt"},"policies":[{"slug":"uae-national-ai-strategy-2031","id":"AIPT-POL-0191","permanent_url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0191","title":"UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031","short_title":"UAE AI Strategy 2031","jurisdiction":"uae","instrument_type":"strategy","status":"adopted","is_binding":false,"ai_specific":true,"issuing_body":"UAE Government, Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence","summary_plain":"The UAE National Strategy for AI 2031 aims to position the UAE as a global leader in AI by 2031. It sets objectives across priority sectors, AI talent and research, data and infrastructure, government adoption and governance, including a commitment to AI ethics and to developing appropriate regulation. It is a strategy document that guides government programmes and does not itself impose obligations on private organisations.\n","adopted_on":"2017-10-16","in_force_on":null,"applies_from":null,"official_source_url":"https://ai.gov.ae/","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26","reviewed_by":"Bhaskar Bhatt","content_version":1,"review_status":"verified","confidence_level":"medium","updated_at":"2026-10-15T06:46:24+00:00","url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/uae-national-ai-strategy-2031"},{"slug":"uae-personal-data-protection-law","id":"AIPT-POL-0192","permanent_url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0192","title":"Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (UAE PDPL)","short_title":"UAE PDPL","jurisdiction":"uae","instrument_type":"act","status":"in_force","is_binding":true,"ai_specific":false,"issuing_body":"UAE Federal Government","summary_plain":"The UAE Personal Data Protection Law is the federal data-protection law applying outside the DIFC and ADGM free zones. It sets principles for lawful processing, consent and its exceptions, data-subject rights (including the right to object to automated decision-making without human intervention), controller and processor duties, security and breach notification to the UAE Data Office, cross-border transfer rules, and data protection impact assessments for high-risk processing including new technologies.\n","adopted_on":"2021-09-20","in_force_on":"2022-01-02","applies_from":null,"official_source_url":"https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/data/data-protection","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26","reviewed_by":"Bhaskar Bhatt","content_version":1,"review_status":"verified","confidence_level":"medium","updated_at":"2026-10-16T13:51:22+00:00","url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/uae-personal-data-protection-law"},{"slug":"uae-the-uae-charter-for-the-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence","id":"AIPT-POL-0193","permanent_url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0193","title":"The UAE Charter for the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence","short_title":"The UAE Charter for the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence","jurisdiction":"uae","instrument_type":"guidance","status":"guidance","is_binding":false,"ai_specific":true,"issuing_body":"UAE Cabinet / Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office","summary_plain":"A twelve-principle charter approved by the UAE Cabinet setting expectations for AI development and use, including safety, algorithmic bias, data privacy, transparency, human oversight, governance and accountability, and compliance with applicable laws and treaties. It is a guiding framework rather than binding legislation and supports the objectives of the UAE Strategy for AI.","adopted_on":"2024-06-10","in_force_on":null,"applies_from":null,"official_source_url":"https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/strategies-initiatives-and-awards/policies/Ai/The-UAE-Charter-for-the-Development-and-Use-of-Artificial-Intelligence","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26","reviewed_by":"Bhaskar Bhatt","content_version":1,"review_status":"verified","confidence_level":"high","updated_at":"2026-10-15T06:46:24+00:00","url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/uae-the-uae-charter-for-the-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence"},{"slug":"uae-uae-strategy-for-artificial-intelligence","id":"AIPT-POL-0194","permanent_url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0194","title":"UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (UAE National Strategy for AI 2031)","short_title":"UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence","jurisdiction":"uae","instrument_type":"strategy","status":"adopted","is_binding":false,"ai_specific":true,"issuing_body":"UAE Government / Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence","summary_plain":"Launched in October 2017, the strategy aims to embed AI across government services and priority sectors such as health, education, transport, energy and space, and to make the UAE a leading AI destination by 2031. Its objectives include AI-friendly legislation, talent development, research capability, data infrastructure and strong governance. The UAE Council for AI was created to drive implementation.","adopted_on":"2017-10-01","in_force_on":null,"applies_from":null,"official_source_url":"https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/digital-technology/artificial-intelligence/artificial-intelligence-in-government-policies","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26","reviewed_by":"Bhaskar Bhatt","content_version":1,"review_status":"verified","confidence_level":"medium","updated_at":"2026-10-15T06:46:24+00:00","url":"https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/uae-uae-strategy-for-artificial-intelligence"}]}