Issue 43: How Dubai is Disrupting the Status Quo
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about how small decisions can have a big impact – Joseph Dana, Senior Editor
THE BIG TAKE
How Dubai is Disrupting the Status Quo
How can we harness the power of innovation? Sure, there are great new apps and technologies that improve our daily lives. But how do we truly embrace the power of innovation to transform the way we think about challenges and what is possible for society? The first step is the most difficult and involves turning talk into action. For this, we need powerful examples to show us that radical change is possible.
Change is possible: It’s been just over two weeks since the Dubai Council was announced and its effects across society are starting to be felt. At the direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai Government will be restructured and consolidated to amplify impact. The Dubai Council, which will oversee six critical sectors, is the nexus point of this consolidation. Such a radical approach to governance is proof in action that change is possible. The formation of the Dubai Council is not an isolated event but part of a larger strategy to disrupt how Government operates in the digital age. It’s a new link in a chain of programmes spurring government innovation that includes the boundary-breaking Dubai 10X programme, now in its third year.
Disruptive innovation: By exploiting available technologies to deliver new or existing services in fresh ways informed by design-based thinking and customer focus, the Dubai Government is using innovative thinking to improve governance. The focus is on making services the best they can be for customers, which will have a trickle-down effect of making society as a whole more competitive, streamlined, and efficient.
Setting the standard: Beyond the details of how these decisions will transform the government, the decisions themselves will have an incredible impact on society. They are examples of how to transition from operating to innovating. This shift in perspective is the seed of cultural change, which is a critical ingredient for any flourishing knowledge economy. Profound societal transformations happen when the right leaders make the right decisions at the right times. Our understanding of possibility has been altered. It’s now up to us to embrace this spirit and move forward into the future.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."
Warren Buffett
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
The Dubai Council: Building on a tradition of innovation, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum began 2020 with a bold vision for the Government. This week, we took a deep dive into what the Dubai Council means for the city, the region, and the world. At its core, the Dubai Council is a profound reimagining of how the government can achieve its goals. It’s the latest announcement in a long history of radical decisions designed to ensure Dubai is one of the most innovative cities to live and work in.
AI is a public good: Given the power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to change the planet for the better, shouldn’t governments have a greater role in safeguarding the technology? That’s the simple but complex question we investigated this week at Xische Reports. The development and use of AI technology are so important for society that it can’t be left to big tech giants alone. Moreover, the US government (and others like it) are missing a great opportunity to use AI for good across the public sector.
A Message From SquadX
The way we work is changing. Innovators must think outside the box and find solutions to the rapid production cycles of the digital age. Sometimes that means hitting the ground running with an expert team ready to deliver. Augmented, not outsourced, teams share knowledge across the organisation, delivering dual benefits of speed and know-how while leadership stays focused on the larger issues at play. Discover what we’re doing at SquadX, a Xische company, to unlock results with the power of teams.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
The path to regulation: Writing in Abu Dhabi’s The National, Xische’s Director of Strategy Mary Ames argued that the path to sensible technology regulation should start in small countries. Unlike superpowers such as the United States and China, small states have the power to react quickly with smart laws that protect consumers and encourage innovation. With the most powerful knowledge economy in the region, the UAE is ideally positioned to carve out desperately needed tech regulations.
Fancy a new plane? Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently suggested a fresh way of generating money for the poor. Sell the presidential plane and distribute the proceeds. Sounds like a great plan, right? The only problem is that Obrador couldn’t find any buyers for the new Boeing 787, which Mexico just bought for a cool $218mn. So he floated the idea of a raffle. For just $27, you could enter to win your very own presidential plane. Let’s say the idea didn’t go over well but the internet sure had many suggestions for where one could park a presidential plane.