
World's first AI minister to govern in Dubai and oversee ALL state companies in dystopian vision of the future
ARTIFICIAL intelligence is becoming more sophisticated every year, and many people are anxious about robots taking over their jobs.
But one Middle Eastern country is taking this to a whole new level, bringing AI right into the heart of its government.
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The United Arab Emirates will bring an AI system into its cabinet
Credit: Alamy
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid made the stunning announcement on Friday
Credit: AFP
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Artificial intelligence robot looking at futuristic digital data display
Credit: Getty
Numerous jobs from customer service to data entry are often seen as at risk to being lost to machines in the near
Yet even government ministers may soon have to worry about losing their jobs to artificial intelligence.
From
next
year, the United Arab Emirates will bring an AI system into its cabinet.
This will mark the first time in world history that artificial intelligence has had a seat at a nation's top table.
read more in tech
The National Artificial Intelligence System will serve as an advisory member of the UAE's cabinet.
This system is expected to help oversee all of the oil-rich nation's state companies.
Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid made the stunning announcement on Friday.
He began a lengthy X post with some more routine government announcements.
Most read in Tech
These included the establishment of a Ministry of Foreign Trade and a name change to the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
But then the Dubai ruled shared the jaw-dropping news than an AI system would be brought into the fold.
Chilling new vid shows world-first 'synthetic human' dubbed Protoclone twitch into life as it flexes its spindly fingers
He posted: "We also announce that the National Artificial Intelligence System will be adopted as an advisory member of the Cabinet, the Ministerial Development Council, and all boards of directors of federal entities and government companies, starting in January 2026.
"The goal is to support decision-making in these councils, conduct immediate analyses of their decisions, provide technical advice, and enhance the efficiency of government policies adopted by these councils across all sectors.
"The world is going through a comprehensive restructuring phase, scientifically, economically, and socially.
"And our goal is to prepare today for the coming decades.
"Our goal is to ensure continued prosperity and a decent life for future generations."
It comes amid a big drive by the UAE to be a top player the field of AI.
The country's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 aims to make the country a global leader in the field by that year.
The UAE is not the only country looking to further integrate AI into day-to-day life.
A
"We are building a city where everything, people, buildings, vehicles, is connected through sensors and AI," Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota's Board of Directors, has said previously.
"It's a unique opportunity to create a living digital operating system for urban life."
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The Irish Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
How Donald Trump hammered Iran's nuke bases with bunker buster bombs and missiles fired from submarines
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Advertisement Read more on world news B-2 bombers were the only weapon which could do the job - because the Ayatollah's prized Israel has been unable to destroy the site by itself - with Trump declaring on Saturday that only America could destroy it from above. Now, Trump claims he has done so - with six bunker busters able to bury deep through the rock and hit the base. The missiles - 20ft long and carrying a 5,000lb warhead - were dropped by the B-2s, hit the earth, and buried themselves deep into the rock before they exploded. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Exclusive Exclusive Iran claims that it knew the attack was coming and evacuated anything of value from the base. But two other of Iran's nuclear facilities were also hit - Natanz and Isfahan. How Trump COULD destroy Iran's prize nuclear bunker They were blitzed by 30 Tomahawk missiles fired from submarines 400miles away. Tomahawk missiles are a long-range weapon which can be fired from land or sea and can travel at least 1,000miles. Advertisement The US keeps a naval base across the Persian Gulf from Iran in Bahrain. The complex at Natanz holds Iran's largest uranium enrichment plant - crucial for getting the material to weapons grade. 9 A US submarine - capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk missiles Credit: AP 9 Isfahan nuclear power plant Credit: AFP Advertisement 9 One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the New York Times. Isfahan is thought to hold a repository of near bomb-grade nuclear material. Both Natanz and Isfahan had previously been hit by Israel. Advertisement The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, previously said Iran's biggest atomic plant at Natanz was knocked out by the first waves of the Israeli offensive. Mr Grossi said: "The above-ground part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235, has been destroyed". Uranium-235 is essential both for nuclear power stations and also for nuclear weapons . 9 Trump addressing the nation revealed America had 'obliterated' Fordow Credit: Alamy Advertisement 9 Posting on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that US bombers targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan enrichment sites. The bombings come just two days after Trump said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join key ally Israel in attacking Iran. In a nationally televised speech at the White House, Trump said: "Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Advertisement 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days." Iran's Nuclear Sites Arak plant - satellite pictures of this plant near the Iranian town of Arak surfaced over 20 years ago. It contains a heavy-water reactor with plutonium that can be used for nuclear bombs. Bushehr nuclear power station - this power plant is a combination of Russian and German engineering. It's nuclear reactor is operating at 100% power and the site is home to enriched uranium, used for nuclear bombs. Gachin uranium mine - home to uranium ore concentrate, or yellowcake, which can be transformed into enriched uranium ready for nuke bomb assembling. Isfahan conversion plant - yellowcake is converted here into three dangerous substances. Hexafluoride gase used in the enrichment process, uranium oxide used to fuel reactors and metal used in the cores of nuclear bombs. Natanz uranium enrichment plant - this is Iran's largest enrichment base. It's made up of three underground buildings and is closely watched by the international community. Parchin military site - south of Tehran, this site is focused on research and the production of ammo, rockets and explosives. Concerns have been raised that it is also used as part of Iran's nuclear weapon development. Qom uranium enrichment plant - a heavily fortified and initially secret facility where Iran carries out uranium enrichment.

The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
Never mind the spin - Ireland isn't close to ‘breakeven' on the €21 billion AIB bailout
Paul O'Donoghue GOOD NEWS – WE'RE up on our big investment! 'What investment?' you cry. Why, the Great Bank Bailout investment, of course! You see, during the week the state sold its final shareholding in AIB. It was once assumed that a lot of the cash poured into the lender was a sunk cost. It turns out, that isn't the case. The government said during the week that, once everything is factored in, AIB will come extremely close to repaying its bailout. Some €20.8 billion was put into the lender during the financial crisis. The government so far has gotten back €19.8 billion. Eventually, the total recovered amount will likely rise to just over €20 billion. Multiple media outlets reported during the week that AIB will end up about '€700 million shy' of repaying the state. Essentially, coming very close to breakeven. This is based on calculations provided by the Department of Finance. The department said when you look at the bailout money collectively put into AIB, Bank of Ireland (BOI) and PTSB, 'the state is €0.6 billion above break-even on its €29.4 billion investment'. All of that sounds great. But it doesn't give the full picture. Here's why. A LUAS tram passes in front of AIB headquarters. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The debt To cut a long story short – the government's figures don't take debt servicing costs into account. When the Irish state poured €29.4 billion into those AIB/BOI/PTSB during the financial crisis, it borrowed money to do so. This debt costs money to service – quite a bit. Let's start with AIB. As stated, the AIB bailout cost was €20.8 billion. The Comptroller and Auditor General (basically the state spending watchdog) previously estimated that, as of the end of 2021, debt servicing costs on the AIB bailout amounted to €7.1 billion. That amount is on top of the €20.8 billion – so straight away, the actual AIB bailout cost goes to €27.9 billion. And interest is still being paid on that money. In a statement to The Journal , the organisation said the report, published in 2022, 'is the most recent report the C&AG has published on this issue'. But as some interest would still have racked up between 2022 and now, it's likely the final AIB bailout cost, when debt servicing is included, is well above €28 billion. With this in mind, we asked the Department of Finance how taxpayers are €0.6 billion 'up' on the AIB/BOI/PTSB bailouts. A spokesman said: 'The figures are based on a simple cash in, cash out basis. We have never included debt servicing costs over the last 10 years of tracking these figures.' Advertisement Asked why debt servicing costs are not included, the spokesperson said: 'It [the Department] doesn't include debt servicing costs, which are under the remit of the NTMA'. The NTMA (National Treasury Management Agency) is the Irish agency which manages the state's assets. Let's think about that for a minute. The Department of Finance doesn't include the billions in debt servicing costs – which are real costs – because counting this is handled by a different state agency. Does that sound like a good reason to ignore billions in taxpayer funds spent? It would be one thing if profit and loss wasn't mentioned at all. But by saying taxpayers are actually in profit on the AIB/BOI/PTSB bailout, the Department's claims paint a misleading picture. Let's take a quick look at debt servicing costs for the three main banks. As of end 2021, the most recent figures available: AIB: €7.1 billion BOI: €0.7 billion PTSB: €0.7 billion That's an additional €8.5 billion. So rather than taxpayers being '€0.6 billion above break-even', we'd actually be about €8 billion down. Not even counting the additional debt costs paid since the end of 2021. It's also telling how the Department chose to highlight the 'investment' into AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB. It didn't mention the other two lenders we bailed out 'invested' in at the same time. This pair, of course, was Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide (INBS). Between them, they received bailout funds of €34.5 billion. The state has recovered about €1.1 billion of that amount. The remaining €33.4 billion is officially deemed an 'unrecoverable sunk cost'. Anglo and INBS were merged into a new state-owned entity called the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), which is trying to get anything it can back for taxpayers. So it's perhaps understandable why the Department would prefer to forget about these two when talking about how well we are doing on our banking 'investment'. Let's do a quick rundown of where things actually stand when looking at the Irish state's banking 'investments' – when including debt servicing costs. AIB – loss for the state. Likely in the region of €8 billion BOI – profit. Approximately €1.4 billion PTSB – state still holds 57% stake, currently valued at €600 million. State will likely finish at a loss of about €1 billion. Possibly less, depending on how much it ultimately sells the shares for. IBRC – loss. Likely in the region of €35 – €40 billion once all costs are included. Briefly returning to AIB. Seeing as the Department of Finance consistently refers to the bank bailouts as 'investments', it's worth briefly considering them as such. If someone invests €20.8 billion in 2010, and receives a payout of say €20.8 billion in 2025, how did they fare? Well, you *could* say they broke even, on a 'cash in, cash out' basis. But in reality, they lost money due to inflation. €20.8 billion in 2010 is worth the same as about €27 billion in today's money. And that's on top of… something… oh yeah, billions in debt servicing costs! How do we keep forgetting those pesky charges? When the government continuously forgets them as well, it can be hard to remember! We're down billions None of this is necessarily to say that bailing out the banks was the wrong move. The Irish state got something valuable for the AIB bailout. It ensured one of the country's main lenders didn't collapse. It also got a decent amount of the bailout money back in the end. At least, from AIB, PTSB and BOI. Likely a good bit more than was expected during the crash. That's all fine. So why can't the government be happy with that, rather than trying to spin that we are around 'breakeven' on our AIB 'investment'? To its credit, AIB's statement on its return to private ownership didn't make any mention of the state's 'return on investment'. So if AIB hasn't tried to claim this, why has the government? Put simply – the government is trying to spin that taxpayers got a return on the bank bailouts. Three of them, at least. But we didn't. Even on those selectively-chosen three bailouts, we're down billions and billions of euro. When the government is trying to rewrite history, it should be called out for it. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal


The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Tensions in Middle East ramp up as B-2 stealth bombers leave US for possible strike on Iranian targets
TENSIONS in the Middle East ramped up further yesterday as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran. US president Donald Trump is believed to have signed off on a hit on the rogue state's underground atomic plant at Fordow. 4 Middle East tensions rise as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran Credit: Alamy 4 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks Credit: Getty It came after a Trump, who said on Thursday he would decide whether to join the offensive 'within two weeks', yesterday gave Israel free rein to continue attacking its enemy Iran. Meanwhile, B-2 bombers took off from the US and were thought to be heading to the Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam. The powerful B-2 Spirit is the only aircraft capable of delivering the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs needed to smash Iran's atomic site at Fordow, south of READ MORE ON IRAN Waves of attacks would be needed to destroy the plant, which is encased in steel under a mountain. Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is also said to be sheltering in a bunker as Israel targets military leaders and nuclear facilities in his country. US officials last night said no orders had yet been given to move the B-2s beyond Guam. But it ramped up more pressure on Khamenei to cut a deal — with Trump demanding Iran scrap its nuclear and ballistic missile plans. Most read in The Sun Meanwhile, a suspected spy linked to Iran was arrested amid fears he was spearheading a massive attack on UK forces in Cyprus. Sources said he was posing as a British tourist when he was detained near the RAF's Akrotiri base with a large camera with telephoto lenses. US deploys bunker-buster bomb carrying B-2 planes to new military base as Iran tensions grow He was also found to have three mobile phones when armed officers swooped on Friday. Police sources confirmed yesterday he was being held on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage. He is suspected to have links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Police swooped on him in the Zakaki suburb of Limassol. He has been in the country since April and is feared to have been mapping troops and jets. The Foreign Office confirmed he was a British national who is understood to be of Azerbaijani descent. 4 The apparent remains of a ballistic missile lying on the ground in northern Israel Credit: Reuters Akrotiri — where hundreds of British pilots, troops and back-up staff are based — is just 200 miles from Israel and well within range of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal. Britain and the US have been warned by Khamenei that their bases will be hit if their forces join Israel. The suspect appeared before the Limassol District Court on Friday and was remanded in custody for eight days pending inquiries. Cypriot sources said he was understood to have had the sprawling UK airbase 'under surveillance' and also watched Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar yesterday also claimed Iran tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus. Extra £3k in Persian MI5 jobs By Dominik Lemanski SPYMASTERS are offering £3,000 bonuses to recruit Persian speakers to tackle Iranian terror. Persian Language Specialists at MI5 and MI6 will support investigations to block Tehran-backed assassins and kidnappers. Recruits will be paid up to £44,818 with £3,000 a year extra on qualification. An advert, which is also hiring for GCHQ, reads: 'We're looking for Persian linguists for a role that goes well beyond translation and transcription. 'You will be a significant asset in helping to safeguard the UK.' In April last year, Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, 37, was stabbed in South West London, in an attack believed to have been ordered by Tehran. It was not known if it was linked to the Brit's arrest. Cyprus has become a transit point for stranded travellers since Israeli airspace was shut at the start of Operation Rising Lion nine days ago. Britain has upped the number of RAF Typhoons at Akrotiri and sent extra Voyager air-to-air refuellers. British and US warjets have previously helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel. But Sir Keir Starmer's government has so far kept the RAF out of the war amid fears of further escalation. Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces' biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi — the financial mastermind of the Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division of Iran's Quds Force, was killed in a strike on a 'safe house' in the Iranian city of Qom. The Israeli military's Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir said: 'Izadi was one of the key figures involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre. The blood of thousands of Israelis is on his hands.' 4 Israel's biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi Credit: @IDF The Israeli military later said it killed another commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, in western Tehran. He was said to be 'responsible for weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East'. An 11th nuclear scientist was also assassinated at a safe house located by Israeli intelligence. Iran's foreign minister said he will not negotiate while attacks continued. But Trump hit back: 'It's very hard to make that request right now. Israel is doing well, in terms of war, and…Iran is doing less well.' But he added: 'We're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran.' Iran fired more missiles at Israel overnight which were intercepted amid reports of minimal damage. Palestine marcher in 'bottle hurl' bust By Eleanor Gunn PRO-Palestine protester was arrested after a bottle was thrown at marchers supporting Israel in London yesterday. His missile fell short but the suspect was chased down The Strand and detained, police said. Thousands of pro- Palestine demonstrators chanted 'Shame on you' as they passed a pro-Israel counter-protest on Waterloo Bridge. Later, footage emerged seeming to show a protester in a keffiyeh scarf performing a Nazi salute. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed crowds. He said politicians were seeking to 'turn people who protest against the invasion of Iran or the occupation of Palestine into terrorists'. Yesterday's protests came as ministers draw up plans to ban group Palestine Action under anti-terror laws. It came after two yobs from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton Oxfordshire on Friday and doused jets in paint