The UAE’s Vision for Artificial Intelligence: A Conversation with OpenAI’s Leadership

At the world's largest petroleum conference, OpenAI's CEO reflects on the Emirates as a beacon of forward-thinking AI adoption, and the transformative potential of intelligent systems across energy, discovery and human work.

There is a particular quality to how certain nations position themselves at the frontier of technological change. The UAE has long understood this choreography, and at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, offered an observation that crystallises the Emirates’ distinctive approach: the UAE stands as the world’s most forward-looking country for artificial intelligence adoption.

Speaking during a panel discussion at ADIPEC 2026, Altman reflected on the significance of partnerships emerging between OpenAI, ADNOC and G42, describing them as collaborative endeavours that would fundamentally reshape how the energy sector operates. These alliances represent, in essence, a shared conviction that artificial intelligence is not a peripheral technology but rather a central force in reimagining global energy systems.

The executive outlined how AI has begun to recalibrate the nature of human work itself. Tools such as ChatGPT have enabled professionals to perform their duties with greater efficiency, while for some, intelligent systems have become something more: colleagues, team members, extensions of thinking rather than mere accessories to it. Yet Altman reserved his greatest enthusiasm for a different domain altogether. What truly excites him, he explained, is artificial intelligence’s emerging capacity to unlock scientific discovery. In recent months, AI systems have begun solving mathematical problems that have eluded human mathematicians. These capabilities, he suggested, would ripple across scientific disciplines and into the complex, multifaceted challenges that define modern energy production.

The question of energy consumption itself merits attention. As efficiency improves, the computational cost per query declines, yet paradoxically, lower costs encourage greater adoption and use. Altman expressed hope that applications of artificial intelligence within the energy sector would ultimately generate sufficient benefits to offset the technology’s own energy demands, eventually contributing to increased global energy availability rather than diminishing it.

On the subject of employment and societal transformation, Altman acknowledged that AI systems are already capable of performing substantial portions of white-collar work. Yet he expressed confidence in society’s capacity to adapt to this shift. What matters, he emphasised, is preserving human creativity and human judgment. People must remain in control of consequential decisions. Artificial intelligence should remain a tool in human hands, he stressed, a force that serves people rather than one entrusted with choices about their futures. As reported in our coverage of energy leaders converging at Abu Dhabi’s largest petroleum showcase, the broader context of this moment involves global discussion about security, investment and technological innovation shaping the energy sector’s future.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

The characterisation of the UAE as the world’s most forward-thinking country for AI adoption signals the Emirates’ position at the vanguard of a technological transformation that will define the coming decades. This recognition reflects not merely investment in infrastructure or rhetoric, but a genuine institutional commitment to integrating intelligent systems across critical sectors, particularly energy, where the UAE holds global significance.

For Abu Dhabi specifically, this narrative reinforces the emirate’s identity as a centre of technological vision and innovation. The partnerships between OpenAI, ADNOC and G42 represent tangible manifestations of this ambition, offering the prospect that artificial intelligence will enhance energy sector efficiency, unlock scientific advances and ultimately contribute to solving some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. The emphasis on keeping humans in control of consequential decisions, meanwhile, suggests a thoughtful, values-centred approach to technological adoption that prioritises human agency and creativity alongside machine capability.