The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has acknowledged the validity of US concerns over China using the Middle East as a proxy to bypass US sanctions on machine learning accelerators. Omar Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of AI and Digital Economy, stated that American officials have good reason to be concerned about the region.
The UAE has been making strides in AI, with the UAE-backed G42 emerging as an AI leader in the Middle East. The corporation has acquired large numbers of GPUs from companies like Nvidia and has fueled the growth of California-based Cerebras Systems, which develops supercomputing clusters of wafer-size chips.
However, US intelligence has raised concerns over G42’s ties to Chinese firms, fearing it could be providing Chinese interests with the supercomputing power necessary to further Beijing’s agenda. In response to US pressure, G42 has reportedly cut ties with its Chinese partners, including Huawei.
Despite these measures, the US continues to express concerns about the potential for sensitive US-origin technology to fall into Chinese hands, given China’s interests in the UAE.
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