As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its meteoric rise, experts caution that its staggering energy demands are beginning to derail global clean energy transition plans. Speaking at Dubai AI Week 2025, leading voices from technology, energy, and policy sectors warned that nations are increasingly prioritizing AI competitiveness over climate commitments.
During a session titled ‘AI’s Energy Future: Strategies for Sustainability’, Zaid Al Ansari, Executive Director at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), drew attention to the high power consumption of generative AI models. “A simple Google search powered by a model like ChatGPT consumes about ten times more energy than a traditional search,” he explained.
Al Ansari noted that some countries are extending the operational life of fossil fuel plants to meet AI-driven energy demands. Others, he added, are postponing renewable energy targets to stay in the race for AI supremacy. “This trend is troubling,” he said, urging the integration of data centres with sustainable energy sources to strike a balance between innovation and environmental responsibility.
Highlighting regional opportunities, Dr. Mounir Boukadidi, Regional Director at Oracle Energy & Water MEA, said the UAE is well-positioned to lead in clean AI infrastructure. “The UAE generates around 166 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually and consumes approximately 158 TWh. This surplus can be leveraged for regional energy trading and powering AI systems,” he said.
Dubai has set a goal to establish itself as a regional hub for AI-powered data centres operating entirely on renewable energy by 2033.
Projections shared by Microsoft General Manager Mansour Belhadj revealed that global data centre energy consumption could reach up to 690 TWh by 2026, with AI execution accounting for 60% of that usage, and AI model training making up the remaining 40%.
Beyond energy concerns, the conference explored AI’s societal impacts. In a session titled ‘Future Forward: Unpacking the Trends Shaping AI’, Joe Youssef Malek, VP for Executive Programs – Gulf, India & Emerging Markets at Gartner, explored the emergence of dual AI personas. “We’re heading toward a future where individuals have both professional and social AI representations,” he said. “This raises complex questions around identity and brand integrity.”
Dr. Patrick Noack, Executive Director of Future Foresight at Dubai Future Foundation, issued a philosophical warning: “Licensing your digital persona is risky. What if it evolves in unpredictable ways? It challenges our understanding of ownership—do you own your AI self, or does your employer?”
The debate over AI’s impact on employment took center stage during ‘Agents Amongst Us: Rethinking Work with Agentic AI’. Mostafa Sallam, HR Leader at Microsoft, emphasized adaptation over elimination. “This isn’t about replacement—it’s about redeployment. The future of work depends on organizational culture,” he said.
Microsoft UAE CFO Shereen Chalak Maalouf added that preparing for AI requires foundational work. “You can’t be AI-ready without clean, unified data. We began with extensive data cleansing to build a single platform,” she said.
AI’s role in environmental resilience was highlighted during ‘The AI-Powered Climate-Resilient Solution and Significant Impacts to UAE’. Professor Mohamed Dawoud of the Environmental Agency – Abu Dhabi explained how AI is revolutionizing water management in arid regions. “We use AI to manage recharge dams and optimize rainfall harvesting,” he said.
Professor Immanuel Moonesar from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government stressed the importance of actionable insights from big data. “The challenge isn’t data scarcity—it’s using data effectively to anticipate and mitigate crises,” he said.
Ethical implications of AI were tackled in ‘Human-Centred AI: Ethics, Rights, and Responsible Design’, where H.E. Maqsoud Kruse, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Institution, posed a provocative question: “Is AI the end of innovation, or is it transforming so fundamentally that we’ll call it something else entirely?”
Real-world AI applications were also on display. In ‘AI Propelling the Skies: Real Use Cases in Aviation’, Melanie Bryant, VP of IT Product Delivery at Emirates, shared how AI is enhancing airline operations. “We’re using AI to optimize resources, cut costs, and improve customer experiences,” she said.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum—Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation—Dubai AI Week 2025 brings together global experts, entrepreneurs, regulators, investors, and tech giants from around the world. Organized by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation, the event runs from April 21 to 25 under a shared mission: to shape AI’s future for the betterment of humanity.
