One Nation Under AI
The United Arab Emirates is pioneering new technology to govern itself. Will it be a model for other nations or a cautionary tale?
While most governments are stuck in gridlock, the UAE is letting AI help write its laws, pushing governance into a faster, more adaptive future. It’s a bold move that challenges the old rules and demands a new balance between innovation, transparency, and human judgment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Political polarization has become the norm just about everywhere. Each piece of legislation seems to spark a political firestorm, and it can take months or even years for governments to pass basic laws. Gridlock has become commonplace. In Washington, Brussels, and beyond, debates drag on, seemingly more about scoring political points than solving problems. Even in times of crisis, swift action feels like the exception rather than the rule.
Now, halfway around the world, a very different experiment is underway. In April, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would become the first country to use artificial intelligence to help write its laws. It’s a move that could mark the start of a new era, one where governments rethink not just what they legislate but how they legislate.
The UAE’s decision may seem radical, but it speaks directly to a growing global frustration that traditional lawmaking is too slow, too reactive, and increasingly ill-suited to the pace of change we’re living through. Instead of patching up an outdated system, the UAE is asking a bigger question. What if the way we create laws could evolve just as fast as the world around us?
A New Approach to Lawmaking
At the center of the UAE’s plan is a newly established Regulatory Intelligence Office. This office will oversee the deployment of AI technologies, including natural language processing, predictive analytics, and large-scale data modeling, to assist in drafting new laws, amending existing ones, and suggesting reforms based on real-time feedback.
Officials believe the system could accelerate the legislative process by as much as 70%. It could also cut development costs in half. Instead of laws being static documents, updated only after lengthy review, they would become living frameworks that evolve with new information and changing needs.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE’s Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, said, “This new legislative system, powered by artificial intelligence, will change the way we create laws, making the process faster and more accurate.” And at a time when even minor changes to laws elsewhere are mired in partisanship and delay, the UAE’s bet on AI feels less like a gimmick and more like a genuine strategy for resilience.
The New Rules of Governance
Innovation often begins with simple questions. In this case, what if legislation could keep pace with technology, economics, and society itself?
The UAE’s plan reflects several "new rules" emerging in governance:
First, lawmaking needs to keep pace with disruption. With accelerating change—technological, demographic, and environmental—slow, rigid lawmaking is increasingly a liability.
Second, data must become a feedback loop for governance. Laws shouldn’t just be written and forgotten. They should be monitored and adapted based on measurable outcomes, ensuring that policies deliver the results they intend.
Third, transparency and human oversight are non-negotiable. Even as AI accelerates drafting and analysis, final decisions must remain firmly in human hands. Citizens have a right to understand how their laws are made and by whom.
Finally, public trust must be earned through clarity, not complexity. If AI plays a role in legislation, governments must be prepared to explain that role clearly, openly, and without techno-utopian promises.
Small Steps Elsewhere
The UAE is the first to make AI a central part of lawmaking, but other countries have been moving in the same direction, albeit cautiously.
In China, AI is already embedded in the court system, helping to manage filings and even assisting judges in drafting rulings. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court uses AI to triage appeals. Estonia has considered using an AI “judge” for small claims cases. Even here in Washington, the federal government is testing the waters with AI to streamline operations within agencies.
Each of these experiments hints at a future where AI doesn’t just support governance but helps shape it. Yet until now, most efforts have kept AI behind the scenes. The UAE is bringing it front and center.
Innovation, with Caution
There are real risks. AI can hallucinate. It can reflect the biases hidden in its training data, a reflection of society writ large. It can make decisions in ways that are difficult for humans to fully understand or explain.
Critics rightly warn that moving too fast could erode democratic accountability and its institutions. Lawmaking is not just a technical process; it is an exercise in values, negotiation, and moral judgment. Even the most sophisticated AI cannot understand human dignity, fairness, or justice as well as people can.
The UAE’s leaders seem aware of this. Their AI-generated legislative drafts will still pass through human review, and the final authority will rest with human lawmakers. In this sense, AI is being positioned not as a replacement, but as a tool—one that can make governance faster and more adaptive without sacrificing the essential human elements of judgment and accountability.
The Future Is Here, Almost
The UAE’s experiment will be watched closely. If it succeeds, it could become a model for other innovation-driven nations. If it stumbles, it will offer valuable lessons on the limits of automation in public life.
Either way, one thing is clear: the rules of governance are changing. Technology is not just something governments must regulate; it is now something they must integrate into their very operating systems.
The old model of slow, reactive lawmaking no longer fits the realities of today’s world. In its place, a new model is emerging, one that is faster, more data-driven, and more responsive to real-world needs.
The question for the rest of the world isn’t whether AI will shape governance. It’s whether we will shape it wisely, with clear rules, transparent processes, and human values at the core.