Microsoft boots global AI investments in the Middle East and the Global South

Microsoft is boosting its investment in AI for the Middle East and Africa, in conjunction with Abu Dhabi-based G42.

Why it matters: Microsoft wants its technology — and U.S. tech more broadly — to beat China in the battle to power the world’s AI systems, especially in developing countries.

Driving the news: Microsoft and G42 will jointly fund a center to identify and develop best practices and standards to responsibly use AI in the Middle East and the Global South — an effort that also has the backing of Abu Dhabi’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council.

• Microsoft is also establishing an AI for Good research lab in Abu Dhabi similar to ones it has elsewhere in the world.
• Microsoft announced a major partnership with G42 last year.

Between the lines: Microsoft’s investment in the region — and the partnership with G42 — are key to the global battle over whose AI technology will be used outside of the U.S., Europe and China.

• It’s widely assumed that the U.S. and Europe will insist on systems designed in one of those areas, while China will rely on its homegrown technologies.
• The battle to power AI systems for the rest of the world, especially in developing countries, is likely to be intense.

What they’re saying: “Part of building a global coalition of like-minded countries with the United States involves demonstrating our commitment as an industry and as a country to ensure that AI gets to work quickly to solve the practical problems that societies around the world are focused on addressing,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told Axios.

Zoom in: Smith noted that G42 has agreed to replace equipment from China’s Huawei, to comply with any US export controls and to adopt everything President Biden called for in his executive order on AI.

• “It puts Abu Dhabi — as a place — in a position to help be a bridge from Washington to the rest of the world and a bridge between the Global North and the Global South.”

Zoom out: The fight over whose AI systems are used around the world is likely to also become a fight over values and an ongoing debate over whether American and Chinese companies will be willing to adjust their systems to reflect the values of a particular country or population.

• “The United States is competing with China, not only for leadership and technology, but for leadership and technology values,” Smith said. “And you can’t win a contest for technology values unless your values are clear, unless you talk with others about them, and unless you help people appreciate that your values speak to their practical needs.”

What’s next: I’ll have a chance to talk about these and other issues on stage with Brad Smith and Carme Artigas from the U.N. High-level Advisory Body on AI, next week at the Clinton Global Initiative.