There is always some news of novel technological implementations, coming out of Dubai and the UAE. Indeed, the UAE has been seeking to ease the lives of its inhabitants, and its diverse population members.
The latest iteration of such implementations are Dubai-based government service centers, that use Artificial Intelligence technology and the Middle East’s largest touch screens in order to serve some of the daily bureaucratic need of the city’s inhabitants. The service center – launched last night (Saturday, September 9th, 2017)- contains only one human employee. The rest of its employees, however, are -we kid you not- IBM Watson robots.
Watson will answer the visitor queries in both Arabic and English, with the aid of the Middle East’s largest touch screen, and will allow visitors to provide feedback. The center will also allow visitors to access 100 services, that are typically officially provided by 14 disparate federal and local government branches and ministries. Dubai’s very own Sheikh Mohammed has stated the following, while commentating on the launch of the centre.
The center will be a laboratory to test all the suggestions of the public and will include a platform to bring together the public with the government to discuss ideas on a daily basis. The center is just the first of many centers and innovations to come. We will not stop because our goal is to be the first in the world when it comes to government services by 2020. We want customers to experience a different environment at service centers – a comfortable and flexible one – (by) employing advanced technologies and turning them into easy-to-use tools, enabling the customer to get the services in just one visit.
The center currently provides three different service packages. The first is called “Mabrook ma yak”; this translates into “Congratulations, on your newborn.” The first package is designed to handle all documents pertaining to newborn’s registration, in one go.
The second package is called “Mabrook ma dabrat”; this translates into “Congratulations on your marriage.” This package prepares all documents required for and by the registration of a new marriage and newly weds, all in one go.
The third is an employment service package that allows private companies – with less than 5o employees – to process employment transactions in a single visit.