In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Dubai has unveiled a virtual Emirati family powered by artificial intelligence, aimed at enhancing the city’s digital outreach and supporting its smart transformation strategy. Developed by Digital Dubai, the project introduces interactive characters designed to embody Emirati culture and connect with a broad audience through familiar, human-like storytelling. The rollout began with the debut of “The Girl,” the family’s first member, and plans are underway to reveal more characters that will collectively represent a modern Emirati household in digital form.
The concept: AI characters as digital Ambassadors
Digital Dubai’s new initiative introduces the first AI-generated “Emirati Family,” intended to act as a bridge between government services and the public. Each virtual character is designed using advanced AI and data technologies, forming a highly interactive digital interface.The AI-generated Emirati family is designed not just to represent culture but to function as an active communication tool in Dubai’s digital ecosystem. Beyond general awareness, these virtual characters are likely to be used for public announcements, policy updates, and important government messages, delivered in a simplified, interactive format. By humanising digital communication, they could help make government information more transparent, relatable, and easier for the public to understand and engage with.
First character revealed: “The Girl”
The debut of the first family member, referred to as “The Girl,” marks the beginning of the rollout. She was introduced in a short video shared on social media, where she appears in a playful scene at a park, wearing traditional Emirati attire with a contemporary touch. The character has been purposefully designed to appear warm, friendly, and relatable, especially to children and families.To increase public engagement, Digital Dubai launched a naming campaign, inviting citizens and residents to vote for her name. The three shortlisted options were: Dubai, Mira, and Latifa. This participatory element is part of the initiative’s larger goal of fostering dialogue around digital technology and AI in everyday life.Additional members of the virtual family, including a father, mother, and brother, will be introduced soon, creating a complete digital representation of a modern Emirati household. Each member will play a role in communicating key aspects of Dubai’s digital services.
Purpose and role: Communicating digital services through familiar faces
The core aim of the AI family is to make government communication more engaging, culturally grounded, and easy to understand. Instead of traditional formats, the characters will deliver government messages and public service announcements in ways that resonate emotionally with people, using visuals and language tailored to their lifestyles and cultural context.The initiative is structured to reach:
- Children and young people, who connect more readily with digital interfaces
- Families, through culturally familiar scenarios
- Residents and visitors of various nationalities and backgrounds, using inclusive, multilingual content
By transforming digital services into human-like, narrative-driven interactions, the virtual family serves as a storytelling vehicle that simplifies public messaging while reinforcing core Emirati values.
How Dubai’s AI family fits Into global AI developments
Dubai’s growing focus on AI is also being recognised at the global level. In the 2025 Global AI Cities Index, published by Counterpoint Research, a technology market research firm that evaluates innovation, readiness, and AI integration across major urban centres, Dubai ranked among the top five cities worldwide for AI adoption.Key highlights from the index:
- Dubai placed 4th globally, ahead of San Francisco, atraditional tech hub
- Only Middle Eastern city in the top 10, alongside Abu Dhabi
Top-ranked cities include:
- Singapore
- Seoul
- Beijing
- Dubai
- San Francisco
The momentum behind AI innovation isn’t limited to Dubai. In 2023, Kuwait made headlines with the introduction of Fedha, the Arab world’s first AI-powered news presenter. Developed by Kuwait News, Fedha appeared in short video clips shared on social media, presenting news bulletins in a modern digital format. Her appearance, with light-coloured hair and contemporary clothing—was deliberately designed to spark conversation about the future of journalism and AI in media.In a separate development, Dubai AI Week 2025 offered a glimpse into what the near future may hold. During a panel session, Gartner, a global research and advisory firm, predicted the rise of digital employee twins by 2027. These AI-generated replicas of real employees could be used in virtual work environments to perform routine or specialised tasks, potentially transforming workplace dynamics while raising new questions around job roles, data ownership, and intellectual property rights.FAQs:Q. What is the AI Emirati Family?It’s a group of virtual characters created using AI to represent an Emirati household and communicate government messages.Q. Why was this initiative launched?To make Dubai’s digital services more accessible and engaging for all segments of society.Q. Who created the AI family?The project was developed by Digital Dubai, the city’s government body for digital transformationQ. How does the public participate? The public was invited to vote on the first character’s name, with more family members to be introduced soon.
