DUBAI: Robots puttering around Dubai’s hi-tech Expo site could be a sign of things to come for the Gulf, where new cities are being built from scratch with artificial intelligence at their core.
The 5G-enabled Expo, covering an area twice the size of Monaco, will remain as a “city of the future” and tech industry hub, Expo’s chief told AFP before its grand opening last month.
But the $7 billion project, featuring robots that greet visitors and can be used to order food, is not alone in the wealthy Gulf, where petro-dollars are being invested heavily in a post-oil future.
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia is lavishing $500 billion on NEOM, a brand new, next-generation Red Sea…