阿联酋的AI浪潮

I
spent
the
last
week
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates
(UAE)
on
a
fact
finding
trip
focused
on
the
country’s
AI
ambition.
I
was
part
of
an
American
delegation
among
Washington,
DC
think
tankers,
which
brought
back
fond
memories
of
when
I
was
an
inside
the
beltway
person
myself
when
serving
in
the
Obama
administration.
过去⼀周，我在阿拉伯联合酋⻓国（UAE）进⾏了⼀次实地考察，重点关注该国的⼈⼯智能雄⼼。作为华盛顿特区智库学者组成的美国代表团的⼀员，这次旅程让我回忆起⾃⼰曾在奥巴⻢政府任职时⾝处⾸都圈的经历。 Although
I
have
developed
a
notion
that
the
Middle
East
is
fast
becoming
a
pivotal
player
in
the
US-China
AI
co-opetition
a
year
ago,
it
was
done
mostly
through
reading,
observing
from
afar,
and
intuiting
from
broad
technology
and
geopolitical
fundamentals.
Up
until
last
week,
I
had
never
been
to
the
UAE,
a
key
driver
in
the
region’s
AI
wave,
nor
any
other
part
of
the
gulf
region.
On
this
trip,
we
were
able
to
meet
with
key
decision
makers
from
almost
all
the
relevant
institutions
in
its
AI
ecosystem,
from
capital
and
finance,
to
government
agencies,
to
tech
companies
and
universities.
虽然早在⼀年前我就形成了这样的认知⸺中东正迅速成为中美⼈⼯智能竞合中的关键参与者，但这种认知⼤多来⾃阅读、远距离观察，以及对⼴泛技术和地缘政治基本⾯的直觉判断。直到上周，我还从未踏⾜阿联酋⸺该地区⼈⼯智能浪潮的关键推动者⸺或海湾地区的任何其他地⽅。此次⾏程中，我们得以会⻅了其⼈⼯智能⽣态系统中⼏乎所有相关机构的关键决策者，从资本⾦融到政府机构，再到科技公司和⼤学。 Narratives
often
move
markets
and
policies
temporarily,
but
the
ground
truth
is
what’s
valuable
and
enduring.
And
you
can’t
find
any
ground
truth
unless
you
are
on
the
ground!
This
post
is
my
first
attempt
at
unpacking
some
of
the
ground
truth
I
gathered,
and
what
it
all
means
for
the
future
of
AI
globally.
叙事往往只能暂时推动市场和政策，但真正有价值且持久的是地⾯实况。除⾮你亲临实地，否则根本⽆法发现任何地⾯实况！本⽂是我⾸次尝试揭⽰⼀些我收集到的地⾯实况，以及它们对全球⼈⼯智能未来意味着什么。 (A
lengthy
but
important
disclosure:
this
trip
was
sponsored
by
the
UAE
Embassy,
meaning
they
paid
for
our
flights,
hotels,
most
meals,
and
helped
arrange
all
the
meetings.
The
flight
was
comfortable
and
the
hotels
were
very
fancy,
though
our
schedule
was
also
so
packed
on
some
days
that
we
had
10
minutes
to
eat
breakfast,
skipped
lunch,
and
barely
had
time
to
go
to
the
bathroom.
This
generosity
should
not
go
unrecognized
and
unappreciated.
But
at
no
point
during
the
trip
did
I
feel
pressured
or
expected
to
“write
something
nice”
about
my
experience,
or
write
anything
at
all.
Most
people
on
the
trip
did
not
know
I
have
a
newsletter
with
more
than
10,000
subscribers.
When
our
official
agenda
was
concluded
on
each
day,
I
was
left
alone
to
my
own
devices
to
explore
the
country
however
I
preferred
without
any
restrictions.
All
meetings
were
conducted
under
Chatham
House
rule,
so
whatever
insight
I
share
in
this
post
and
future
posts
about
this
trip
will
not
be
attributed
to
anyone
or
any
institution.
It
is
an
aggregation
based
on
my
notes
and
interpretations,
so
any
mistake
I
make
is
mine
and
mine
alone.
（⼀段冗⻓但重要的声明：本次⾏程由阿联酋⼤使馆赞助，这意味着他们⽀付了我们的机票、酒店、⼤部分餐费，并协助安排了所有会议。航班舒适，酒店极为奢华，但某些⽇⼦的⾏程安排得极为紧凑，我们只有⼗分钟吃早餐，午餐被省略，甚⾄⼏乎没时间上厕所。这份慷慨不应被忽视和遗忘。但在整个旅程中，我从未感到被迫或预期要“写些好话”来描述我的经历，或必须写任何内容。⾏程中的⼤多数⼈并不知道我拥有⼀份订阅者超过⼀万⼈的通讯。每天官⽅⽇程结束后，我可以完全⾃由地按照⾃⼰的喜好探索这个国家，没有任何限制。所有会议均在查塔姆研究所规则下进⾏，因此我在这篇⽂章及未来关于此⾏的⽂章中分享的任何⻅解，都不会归因于任何个⼈或机构。这些内容是基于我的笔记和解读的汇总，所以任何错误都由我独⾃承担。） I
prefer
to
issue
any
disclosure
upfront,
so
you
have
it
in
your
mind
as
you
read,
as
opposed
to
hiding
them
at
the
end
of
an
article
in
fine
print,
as
is
often
the
case,
when
few
readers
are
paying
attention.
This
is
done
to
reinforce
the
integrity
and
accountability
of
everything
you
read
on
the
Interconnected
newsletter.
It
doesn’t
mean
I
get
everything
right,
but
if
I
did
get
something
wrong,
they
are
honest
mistakes
and
not
committed
under
undue
influence
or
conflict
of
interest.)
我倾向于在⼀开始就进⾏任何信息披露，这样在阅读时你能⼼中有数，⽽不是像通常那样，将声明藏在⽂章的末尾⼩字⾥，那时已少有读者会注意。此举旨在加强你在《互联》通讯中所读内容的完整性与责任性。这并不意味着我的所有陈述都准确⽆误，但若有所疏漏，那皆是诚实的错误，并⾮受到不当影响或利益冲突所致。 Not
Switzerland

不是瑞⼠
I
intentionally
did
not
do
much
prep
before
the
trip,
deciding
to
show
up
as
a
blank
slate,
be
a
sponge,
and
absorb
everything
that
is
presented
to
me,
then
sort
out
facts
from
fiction
independently
on
my
own.
The
only
“prep”
I
did,
if
you
can
even
call
it
that,
was
watch
the
movie,
“Fast
and
Furious
7”,
on
my
plane
ride
to
the
UAE.
This
is
the
one
with
that
dramatic
scene,
where
Vin
Diesel
drove
a
sports
car
through
not
one
but
two
glass
skyscrapers
in
Abu
Dhabi.
我特意没有在⾏前做太多功课，决定以⼀张⽩纸的状态出现，像海绵⼀样吸收所有呈现给我的信息，再亲⾃辨别其中的虚实。要说有什么"准备"，⼤概也就是在⻜往阿联酋的航班上看了《速度与激情
7》这部电影。就是那部有范·迪塞尔驾驶跑⻋连续穿越阿布扎⽐两座玻璃摩天⼤楼的震撼场景的⽚⼦。
As
luck
would
have
it,
our
hotel
on
the
first
night
was
right
next
to
those
glass
skyscrapers,
the
Etihad
Towers.
Standing
on
the
balcony
of
my
room,
I
could
see
Vin
Diesel
in
that
brakeless
sports
car
flying
straight
to
my
room
‒
a
fitting
mental
image
for
my
week
ahead.
巧的是，第⼀天晚上⼊住的酒店就紧邻那些玻璃摩天⼤楼⸺阿提哈德塔。站在房间阳台上，我仿佛看到范·迪塞尔开着那辆没有刹⻋的跑⻋直冲我的房间⻜来⸺这倒是对接下来这⼀周的绝佳⼼理预演。
The
Etihad
Towers
from
my
hotel
balcony
从我的酒店阳台上看到的酋⻓国⼤厦 The
pace
of
building
is
literally
fast
and
furious,
both
in
Abu
Dhabi
and
Dubai.
One
factoid
that
stuck
out
in
my
head
was
that
there
are
1.5
million
construction
workers
in
the
UAE,
out
of
a
total
population
of
10
million.
In
other
words,
15%
of