GITEX Global 2025: AI for All - Insights, Innovation, and Global Momentum

Last week, ICS.AI joined over 180,000 innovators, governments, and technology leaders in Dubai for GITEX Global 2025 - the world’s largest technology and AI event. 

As the UK’s fastest-growing public sector AI company, our goal was to share how the UK’s proven SMART: Unified AI for All platform is transforming government and education - and to explore how that success can scale internationally. Across three intensive days of talks, meetings, and innovation showcases, one message stood out: the world is ready to move from AI pilots to full-scale, sovereign AI transformation. 

Sovereign AI and Skills for the Future 

From the opening keynotes, the conversation centred around trust, sovereignty, and skills - themes resonating deeply with governments worldwide. 

There was a clear shift toward the establishment of sovereign AI ecosystems, ensuring nations retain control of their data and models while driving innovation responsibly. Ministers from across regions emphasised the enduring need to build public trust in AI, positioning transparency and accountability as non-negotiable foundations for adoption. 

A compelling idea also emerged about the future of work. As one speaker noted, “AI can now write complex strategies in minutes - but our people must develop the skills to select, interpret, and apply the right solutions.” 

This evolution from task automation to strategic decision-making underscores why AI literacy and problem-solving skills will be the defining workforce competencies of the next decade. 

Building the Infrastructure for Global AI Transformation 

Another dominant theme throughout GITEX 2025 was the scale of investment in AI infrastructure - particularly in the Middle East. 

The UAE’s collaboration with G42 was repeatedly highlighted as one of the most ambitious national AI initiatives in the world. Projects such as the Stargate 5 GW campus, a massive addition to global AI data-centre capacity, demonstrate the region’s commitment to establishing itself as a global AI powerhouse. Engineering work is already underway to achieve 2.2 megawatts per rack - a 2,000× increase over current data-centre norms! 

In his keynote at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Dr Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, captured the spirit of this moment of acceleration: 

“Technology and society are a co-evolving system. It requires joint steps...AI has the power to unlock the potential of society. It is the most critical scientific endeavour in history.” 

These remarks reinforced a shared understanding across public and private sectors that the AI transformation journey must advance in partnership - balancing technical progress with governance, ethics, and human capability. 

Collaboration and Connection Across the Region 

GITEX 2025 also served as a powerful platform for international collaboration. The ICS.AI team engaged with G42 and its subsidiaries, the British Embassy in Dubai, the UK Chamber of Commerce, and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) - exploring partnerships aligned to regional digital transformation goals such as Vision 2030. 

Parallel sessions like the North Star Super Connector event at Dubai Marina and the British Chamber of Commerce business briefing on cybersecurity provided valuable networking opportunities and insights into how UK organisations, including the University of Birmingham, are expanding into local markets. 

Discussions on the AI transformation across MENA highlighted the extraordinary pace of investment in data centres and human capital by sovereign states. Speakers also emphasised the importance of public-private collaboration to ensure balanced growth - a principle central to ICS.AI’s own “AI for All” philosophy. 

AI, Biotech, and the Next Frontier 

Midway through the week, the conference shifted focus toward biotech and health tech, revealing how AI, genomics, CRISPR, and neurotechnology are beginning to converge to reshape science and society. 

Chris Gibson, CEO of Recursion, captured this emerging convergence with his idea of “Data, DNA, and AI” - a trio defining the future of healthcare innovation. The event showcased how computational sciences and biology are being bridged to accelerate discoveries in medicine, drug development, and longevity research. 

Sessions on quantum computing explored its role in advancing drug discovery and life sciences, while “The $10 Trillion Transition” positioned healthcare not merely as a sector, but as a strategic economic opportunity within the global intelligence economy. 

This growing intersection of data, biology, and AI exemplifies how digital transformation is expanding beyond traditional IT and governance into new domains that directly impact human wellbeing and societal resilience. 

Reflections: From the UK to the World 

GITEX Global 2025 reaffirmed the global momentum behind AI transformation - and the appetite for proven, ethical, and sovereign approaches that deliver measurable impact. 

ICS.AI’s SMART: Unified AI for All platform, co-engineered with Microsoft, is designed for exactly this purpose. Already powering 62% of UK councils using phone-based AI and delivering millions in verified savings, including £7.5 million for Derby City Council, SMART: provides a secure, multilingual, and governable AI model that empowers every employee and serves every citizen equally. 

Despite the plethora of world-class innovations and the scale of international investment on display at GITEX, we were proud to come away confident that the solutions we deliver to UK public sector customers remain at the cutting edge – able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the most advanced AI systems in the world, both in terms of technical performance and outcome-based results.  

With up to 70% cost reductions and guaranteed ROI in both government and education sectors, SMART: offers a blueprint for nations seeking to modernise public services while maintaining control, compliance, and trust. 

Our time at GITEX showcased not just technological innovation, but a shared commitment to collaboration, inclusion, and sustainable transformation. From the UK to the UAE and beyond, AI for All is no longer a vision - it’s becoming a global reality. 

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