33% of Dubai government jobs at risk from AI, clerical roles most exposed, study finds

23/04/2025 05:46 AST

Approximately 33 per cent of Dubai government jobs are at a high risk of exposure to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to a new study. It also found that clerical support workers were the most exposed and that Gen AI could take away 24 per cent of their job tasks.

The study conducted by the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) in collaboration with the Dubai Government Human Resources Department surveyed 2,480 employees from 34 Dubai government entities to assess Gen AI's impact on job roles. The study also interviewed Chief AI Officers (CIAOs) from five leading government entities for recommendations.

"Most of the employees that took the survey already used Gen AI in some form or another with 64 per cent being users," said Keertana Subramani, a researcher with MBRSG. "Most of the employees were at a regular or intermediate level, with a smaller percentage, around 16 per cent, being advanced or expert users."

She added that a survey of senior managers "surprisingly" found that 48 per cent of them "were okay with people using Gen AI without disclosing that they used it" - an indication of how widely it was being used.

Content creation
The technology was most widely used for content creation, followed by strategy development and data analysis. More than 80 per cent of users reported saving time using Gen AI, and 46 per cent said it increased the quality of their work and productivity. Challenges faced by users included inaccuracy of information - an issue faced by 40 per cent of responders- and data privacy issues.

"A lot of people were concerned about data privacy, especially with regards to organisational use cases of their data, as well as bias," she said. "There also needs to be a better representation of the local culture, language, and other data pertinent to this field, which is missing in most international benchmark Gen AI tools today."

The study also suggested that training and upskilling employees were "the key of the hour" and that awareness and openness to the adoption of new technology across departments are also very important.

Use of AI in SMEs
A separate report by MBSRG also found that 99 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were either using or exploring Gen AI, with the highest usage being in marketing, customer service, design, and analytics.

The research suggested that infrastructural needs in the region were evolving and that the biggest challenges included affordable computing and data storage. There was a high awareness of AI and data policies among SMEs, but a shortage of talent plagued the entire region. Additionally, foreign intellectual property registration among AI SMEs was low, at only 9 per cent.

The UAE is ranked fifth globally in Stanford's AI Vibrancy Index and 13th in the Oxford Government AI Readiness Index. With SMEs representing 94 per cent of UAE companies, their AI adoption is critical for national economic development.

Khaleej Times