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The Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, MBRSG, will host the 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, dg.o 2019, in Dubai.
Taking place from 18th - 20th June 2019, and bearing the theme 'Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence', this year’s edition marks the first time the global academic conference is held in the Middle East region.
The Conference is one of a series of annual forums organised by the Digital Government Society, DGS, bringing together renowned scholars to present, discuss, and demonstrate interdisciplinary research on digital government, smart cities, public participation, civic engagement, technological innovation, applications, and practice.
The 2019 edition, held at MBRSG’s Dubai headquarters, comes as the UAE Government continues to make strides into the AI field, embedding the advanced technology into government operations, as well as economic and societal development plans. The UAE launched the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy in October 2017 and appointed a Minister of State of Artificial Intelligence in a global first.
"Hosting the Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research for the first time in the Middle East region reflects Dubai and the UAE’s increasingly growing role as a hub for the governments of the future and a global laboratory to experiment with and develop innovative and advanced government policies that seek to improve people’s lives," said MBRSG’s Executive President Dr. Ali Sebaa Al Marri. He noted that hosting the forum helps drive MBRSG’s regional and international leadership role as an think tank and academic institution in the critical fields of digital government development, and cements its role as a partner to the UAE Government, sourcing the most advanced and effective policies and tools to empower the country’s future leaders.
Papers at the 2019 edition of the Conference cover a wide range of cutting-edge research that revolves around the growing applications of AI, which are triggering numerous opportunities, challenges, and dilemmas for governments around the world, as traditional forms of service provisioning, policy-making, and enforcement are transformed by AI algorithms and techniques.
The growing digitisation of government operations, the datafication of societal activities and behaviours, and the maturity and feasibility of Big Data, Blockchain, IoT, and smart cities applications, will also be part of the conference agenda.
"The rise of Artificial Intelligence uses by governments worldwide and the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution bring about opportunities for better governments of the future. However, it also triggers sweeping transformations that compel these governments to adjust to numerous complex social, political, economic, and ethical challenges," said Fadi Salem, the Conference Co-Chair and MBRSG’s Director of Research and Advisory.
"The dg.o 2019 conference builds on MBRSG’s growing research and activities on the policy implications of Artificial Intelligence in government and society. As a public policy think tank, MBRSG holds a regional leadership role as a source of knowledge in digital government policy domains. For more than a decade, our regional research output and policy activities have been recognised globally in the fields of digital governance, technology policy, smart cities transformation, societal big data, social media impact, and the implications of the 4th Industrial Revolution," Salem added.
Over the course of the past two decades, the Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research has been at the helm of digital governance transformations, bringing together experts, decision makers, and academics to explore prospects and global developments in the digital government sector.
The 20th edition of the conference will bring together scholars and experts from six continents, hailing from 62 cities located across 45 countries around the world, and representing the global network of universities and academic institutions active in the digital government sector.
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