US seeks alliance with #AbuDhabi #UAE on artificial intelligence

US seeks alliance with Abu Dhabi on artificial intelligence

The Biden administration is proactively encouraging US tech groups to seek artificial intelligence deals and partnerships in the United Arab Emirates, seeking to cultivate an alliance that would provide it with an edge over China in developing the revolutionary technology. 

This week, Microsoft announced a $1.5bn investment in G42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI group chaired by powerful Emirati royal Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, representing the tech giant’s latest huge bet on AI. 

According to people familiar with the discussions, the deal was finalised following a series of meetings over the past year brokered by the US government between investors and companies from the UAE and American tech companies including Microsoft, Google and OpenAI. 

The talks are part of Washington’s efforts to achieve supremacy over Beijing in the development of artificial intelligence and other sensitive technologies. 

Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo has been closely involved, a person briefed on the negotiations said, as the highest levels of the US government worked to develop closer ties between American tech groups and Abu Dhabi.

Oil settles slightly higher as Iran plays down reported Israeli attack | Reuters

Oil settles slightly higher as Iran plays down reported Israeli attack | Reuters

Oil settled slightly higher on Friday, but posted a weekly decline, after Iran played down a reported Israeli attack on its soil, a sign that an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East might be avoided.

Brent futures settled up 18 cents, or 0.21%, at $87.29 a barrel.

The front month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract for May ended 41 cents higher, or 0.5%, to $83.14 a barrel. The more active June contract closed 12 cents higher at $82.22 a barrel.

Both benchmarks spiked more than $3 a barrel earlier in the session after explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources described as an Israeli attack. However, the gains were capped after Tehran played down the incident and said it did not plan to retaliate.

"It was nothing but a big show, and so the markets deflated as quickly as they spiked," said Tim Snyder, economist at Matador Economics.