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   The strategy reflects the emirate’s desire for soft power as it seeks to turn itself into a hub for global innovation. But it’s also a test of whether a benign autocracy like Dubai can usher in the next wave of technology—AI—by decree, and if so, what that means for more open, democratic countries that are also trying to incubate technologies intended to reshape the world.

   It can feel as if Dubai is constructing the set of a science-fiction movie. Based on the prototypes it has unveiled in recent months, autonomous robocops may someday patrol the Dubai Mall as flying taxis whisk passengers above the gridlock-prone Sheikh Zayed Road. Self-driving buslike pods might drop commuters directly at their doorsteps. At the main airport, a system of hidden cameras disguised as a virtual aquarium tunnel may in the near future scan passengers’ faces and irises as they gawk at digital fish.

   These aren’t just futuristic follies intended to look good on press releases. There’s real money behind such ideas. In 2016, Sheik Mohammed put up $270 million for the Dubai-based Future Endowment Fund, which invests in innovation. Its Accelerators program accepts startups on the basis of their proposed solutions to government concerns. The Dubai police department, for instance, asked Accelerator applicants to “utilize artificial intelligence … to provide statistics that may support the decision-making process or allow for faster response to emergency situations.”

   A leadership reshuffle in October reinforced the government’s commitment as Sheik Mohammed appointed 27-year-old Omar bin Sultan al-Olama as the UAE’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence, creating what is thought to be the world’s first such Cabinet position. “With AI, we cannot afford to be reactive. We must be proactive,” al-Olama says. “That’s the goal of government: to be proactive and do something about it today.”

   The push to attract tech startups and investors to Dubai is consistent with Sheik Mohammed’s reorienting of the emirate’s economy away from dependence on oil revenue after taking over in 2006. The early years of that effort resulted in what Dubai is best known for today: fantastical skyscrapers, ultra-luxury tourist accommodations and global trade. It seems to have paid off; while the price of oil has dropped 37% since 2013, the Dubai stock market is up 155%, according to Bloomberg data from January. Oil once made up about 50% of Dubai’s gross domestic product. Now it accounts for less than 1% of it.

   The initial stage changed the face of Dubai as vast infrastructure and commercial projects were built. Now the next stage aims to create an urban environment where flying cabs and robot cops are everyday sights. If the government intends to construct a thriving playpen for technological guinea pigs, the people who live there are—by one measure—receptive to it. An Accenture study last year found that three-fourths of UAE residents are ready to adopt AI-powered devices and services, compared with a world average of 62%.

   It’s not as if they have much choice. The UAE’s leadership may be benevolent, but it is authoritarian. The state ranks 147th out of 167 countries on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index. Political parties are outlawed, and the rulers’ word is absolute. And democracy matters when it comes to technological advancement, argues Loren Graham, an MIT professor emeritus in the history of science. Innovation has historically flourished in open, democratic societies not least because they have legal systems that are not subject to political whims, he says. Disruptive technology can ignite courtroom squabbles, and more repressive societies can’t always guarantee a level legal playing field—plus there’s the risk that a sitting ruler could see an entrepreneur with enough success and wealth as “an implicit, if not explicit, challenge,” Graham says.

   Officials in Dubai brush off any suggestion that their type of government has any effect on how the gadgets and AI tested on its roadways and in its airspace are developed and deployed. Dubai is investing in technology that serves the people, says al-Olama. “His Highness Sheik Mohammed says the main goal of government is happiness,” he says. “He made my mandate that, yes, we need to be AI-ready, but in a way that makes people happier.”