Dr Marwan Alzarouni – Dubai Is The Merchant of Hope: How We Are Building The City Of The Future
this is the secret formula of Dubai we
don’t focus on any of that negativity we
focus on bringing value to everyone we
focus on building the ecosystem we focus
on the use cases that will deliver value
the focus is on the results our fabric
is always and always will be working
together towards achievable goals in a
systematic way we can talk about the
creation of all this beachr property the
Innovations the blockchain technology
but at the end of the day it’s about
people and about hope that’s ultimately
what you’re selling hope is the greatest
power in the world how does this
mentality spring up in a place that used
to be a place where there was pear is we
were seven small Emirates with very very
small resources all of a sudden we got
good wealth good prosperity good
infrastructure good leadership and we’re
holding on to that we want to genuinely
not go ever back to not being together
it’s called the United Arab Emirates we
are Arabs and we are Emirates but we are
first and foremost United this mentality
do you think you will show the world
somehow that maybe this can be the
standard We Believe by doing things that
we believe are right leading by example
showcasing that we can do it imagine
looking up having the positive energy
and understanding that okay today I have
a mission and this is what I’m looking
for it’s very structured it’s very
looking forward when you focus on
yourself and you focus on your family
and focus on moving forward in life if
you improve yourself the rest of the
world will see what you do and they’ll
want to follow how can you contribute
towards Humanity the solution is to
build something great a lot of people in
Dubai are financially stable because
they have a job they have a roof over
their head you go to sleep not worrying
about your personal security not
worrying about your transaction being
blocked not getting your next paycheck
imagine living in a world that this is
not an issue wouldn’t that world be an
amazing place to live we can do much
more as humans
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the world is
changing inspiration is
everywhere it has never been so easy to
connect share and bring people
together we’re learning from others and
finding the best in
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ourselves challenging our beliefs
sharing our
vulnerability overcoming our
fears transforming ourselves so we can
transform the
world how far can we
go this is London real I am Brian Rose
my guest today is
[Music]
this is London real I am Brian Rose my
guest today is Dr Marwan aleron the
keynote speaker strategic adviser and
passionate advocate of blockchain
Technology you are one of the middle
east’s most well-known crypto pioneers
and have been at the Forefront of
supporting and promoting blockchain
technology within the region for nearly
a decade you are the CEO of the Dubai
blockchain Center which brings together
thought leaders developers investors and
Educators all Under One Roof you’re also
the Strategic adviser to the Dubai
Department of econom and tourism with
the goal of making Dubai the smartest
and happiest city in the world coin
Telegraph need you in the top 100 most
influential people in crypto and you
have said it is imperative that we build
sustainable and responsible blockchain
and artificial intelligence your aim is
to make the UAE the global leader in
Technology Innovation and Dubai among
the top three economic cities globally
by
2033 you believe we must push the
boundaries and push each other to work
tirelessly in order to make Dubai the
greatest City on the planet Dr Maran
welcome back to London rail in
Dubai thank you Brian thank you again
for having me back it it seems surreal
that last time uh we talked you were
just uh exploring Dubai and just
literally fascinated by everything that
is in Dubai and fast forward to today
where you’ve experienced Dubai over the
last 13 months and you have a totally
different perspective and really kind of
your own uh take on the buai as well so
it’s it’s uh really exciting for me to
talk to you and hear about your
experience as well yeah our first
conversation uh was I think two or three
days after I met you at gitex which is
kind of the biggest technology
conference in the world and we sat down
I think right in one of the booths that
you had in digital Dubai and had this
conversation that we called uh we ended
up calling The Merchant of Hope because
that’s what you named du byai and um I
was very new I was making observations
very curious about the place and the
interactions I was having with the
people but I think at one point I said
um am I moving to Dubai and you kind of
laughed out loud and now here I am I’m
spending the entire month of January
here we have the London real Studio here
and we’re talking to the most important
people in this city and uh yeah um
everything seemed to have changed so I
can’t wait to talk about my experiences
with you and you know what this place is
all about um that term Merchant of hope
it really stuck with me when you said
that about Dubai because we can talk
about the buildings we can talk about
maybe the fact that it’s the only fully
digitized city in the world we can talk
about you know the creation of all this
beachr property the Innovations how it
attracts people all over the world the
blockchain technology but at the end of
the day I guess it’s it’s about people
and about hope and I thought it was a
really bold statement that you said you
guys are the merchants of Hope that’s
ultimately what you’re selling and I
meet people from Pakistan from America
from Europe from Asia from Australia
everyone is here what did you mean when
you said you are The Merchant of
hope you see we live at even worse than
than last last year when we talked
actually in an environment and a world
that is like filled with conflict uh a
lot of people don’t want to get involved
in conflicts a lot of people don’t want
this controversy a lot of people don’t
like politics don’t like all the other
issues that people talk about when even
when even when they’re prosperous as a
nation or as as a state uh we don’t
focus on any of that negativity we focus
on the positivity we focus on what
people look forward to and this is the
the secret formula of Dubai uh getting
the best out of people getting people to
be productive providing them with the
right environment the right Circumstance
the right enablers for them to deliver
their best not only for them to wake up
every day looking forward to tomorrow
but also ignoring all the differences
they have with everybody else whether it
is a colleague at work or either it is
some issue with politics or religion or
any other difference no you wake up you
have a goal in life you have something
to look forward to or something to look
and raise your children looking forward
to is improving yourself incrementally
improving your inner surrounding your
sphere of influence influ improving your
city influence improving improving the
nation which is the UAE improving the
world after that as well and you see
every single incremental success you get
is fuel for you to do even better it’s
fascinating because right now in America
there’s a very divisive presidential
election you know in London where I live
there’s a very divisive two-party system
between you know labor and conservative
and the list goes on and on and in the
past 5 years 10 years politics has
turned into entertainment and media and
every front page of every newspaper is
about someone who said something or did
something or is being prosecuted and
about issues from the left and the right
and in the middle and it’s just it’s
just this engine of anger and hate that
seems to dominate and I don’t even know
if we know why we’re doing this and
engaging in this Behavior I guess
because it’s supposedly this quote
unquote democracy this great system but
like you said it really it pulls us into
this negativity Loop that has nothing to
do with our families with the future
with our businesses with making the
world a better place and in Dubai that
just that doesn’t exist and that’s
intentional yes and and and actually in
Dubai it’s a it’s illegal for you to to
uh uh hurt somebody over social media
it’s illegal for you to take a picture
of somebody without their consent and
even in public places and a lot of other
places in the world if you you are free
and and perceived public places you are
free to take pH of anybody for us we
considered invasion of privacy and an
invasion of personal space if you’re
taking a picture of somebody without
their permission so these kind of soft
kind of things that give you a comfort
to go around without expecting people to
bother you without expecting people to
try to solicit you to something it’s
it’s all adds up to this kind of a
environmental kind of safety and
environmental perception of safety
safety as as well when you’re walking
down the streets when you’re shopping in
a mall nobody’s like Paparazzi and you
here you know you you don’t see that
even the celebrities are much more
comfortable in taking pictures because
they people ask for permission always
it’s not because they are courteous are
plot because this is the the system of
Dubai this is the how we grew up this is
how we are accustomed to actually
respect the boundaries of people respect
that they are people after all even
celebrities even uh you know uh famous
people and everybody comes and
approaches you with dignity approaches
you with respect approaches you even if
they disagree with you and and I’ve I’ve
seen uh your interviewer the Mario Noel
when he was saying that he cannot go to
certain places in the world because he
doesn’t feel safe but inby he can walk
around safely he doesn’t get harassed
and it looks just like a given but
there’s a lot of work a lot of lws a lot
of you know uh culture that comes with
it and it’s not only culture at work but
culture in Dubai in general tourists
feel more comfortable and bringing their
kids to the beach because there is no
like public show Showcase of uh intimacy
on public beaches you know so you can
bring your kids anywhere you can bring
your kids there are also adult only
places where kids are not allowed you
know so there’s a place for everything
and there’s a place and and time for
everything and there’s expectations that
are aligned what you expect as a tourist
what you expect as a tourist with family
members uh what you expect as a person
shopping in a mall there’s no public
display of fighting either there’s no
fighting there’s no cursing there’s no
even when you’re driving you cannot
curse at people and driving so all these
kind of things create this kind of
environment where everybody’s focused
laser focused even on work on family on
getting those things aligned and the
priorities right they’re not focusing
that oh today somebody cut me off or oh
today uh somebody harassed me on social
media or bullied me in school or did any
of this stuff because it it’s not it’s
not an issue and I’ve noticed that
because I’ve been here for weeks and I’m
walking around thinking what would my
walk be like if I was in London in
London I might have to worry about a
group of you know drunken Brits after a
football game yelling being aggressive
cat calling women I might have to worry
about the homeless people and falling
over them or them asking for money I
might have to worry about you know all
these things that now I don’t even worry
about and after a while it it really
does change your entire mental state and
here it’s just not an option it’s not
allowed you almost know it’s not allowed
even without reading the rules on the
side of a building it’s like you start
to realize that’s that’s just not okay
and here’s the thing that’s interesting
Dr Marwan is that people in the west say
well we’re free we have our freedom okay
well what is your freedom does your
freedom mean that there are no rules
does your freedom mean that you can like
you said the paparazzi get in your face
you can verbally assault people or with
a set of rules does that actually make
you more free and that’s what this place
feels like and the West can say oh we
have a democracy we have a free press
first of all you don’t and second of all
it’s an illusion of freedom to a certain
extent um and when you really start to
drill down into it again look at the
results again what is the user
experience 100% it’s clearly not working
because you know I I feel safe in a lot
of cities but that’s because I can
protect myself but a lot of people don’t
and they can feel you know dominated
they can feel uncomfortable and it just
doesn’t happen here it’s it’s and I know
it’s not easy and I know you’re a police
officer as well and so you have an
intimate knowledge of what it takes to
keep this place safe yeah so so it’s
it’s environmental security number one
number two perception of security like
you said there’s a lot of soft power
being at play here I’ll give you an
example you mentioned theb police for
example theb police in the early days
used to have like much more muscular
people much with with machine guns with
a lot of other stuff that even when you
see them you’re intimidated even the
airport there we had people with machine
guns some airports in the world have
people with machine guns we got rid of
all of that all the the police people
here in Dubai are very soft spoken
they’re not authoritative uh so even
when they stop you at the traffic stop
uh they’re not very aggressive they’re
not aggressive at all they are overly
friendly actually to the point that you
you you they say like is this even a
police officer is too polite you know so
these kind of things make a huge
difference on how you perceive security
here when you are in trouble they pop up
out of nowhere it seems like right they
are there they are there you have the
perception of if something bad happens
there are people that actually will take
care of you their police will come up
very quickly the ambulances the fire
Services all very Swift very quick and
their time based and their operations
are optimized to the maximum and they
get they get kpi for the amount it takes
on the phone amount it takes to respond
to you and all this other stuff now and
yeah and and and it’s it gives you that
perception uh again very softly now
there’s an expression you know speak
softly but carry a a big stick so the
user experience is a soft experience but
at the end of the day you have a big
stick and you will take somebody to the
airport and they will never come back if
they start violating rules um or I do I
have that wrong but it does feel like
there’s consequences here and I guess
there has to be yeah like I mentioned
the social media for example there’s no
social media harassment you can sue
anybody that talks bad about you on
social media tries to defame you if you
cares anybody even in a private chat
even in a WhatsApp group even in any
kind of perceived private space
harassment is harassment you harass
somebody I have the right to to report
you okay got it and so but the user
experience is one of empathy um so the
rules are strong but the experience is
soft yes and you don’t leave room for
people to to literally uh be abusive uh
on any kind of basis you know abuse is
not there’s no excuse for abuse right
and it stops immediately at the smallest
point so it doesn’t get get more yeah
and and like you said the big stick is
in the law that you understand that okay
this is not allowed it’s not somewhere
an environment that is tolerant to this
there’s zero tolerance for violence
there’s zero tolerance for racism
there’s zero tolerance for sexism for
any kind of you know harassment based on
ethnicity orientation or anything else
there is you do whatever you want to do
you have your personal freedoms nobody’s
allowed to harass you in any way and and
if they do you have the right to to sue
them right let’s talk about something
else cuz I came here for the future
blockchain Summit in October the event
was time to happen literally days after
what happened in Gaza and with Israel
and you told me that there was I think
an Israeli citizen that was
uncomfortable about coming here and
being in Dubai or even sharing a stage
with uh someone from Palestine and I
think a couple people actually came
canel their trips and I know you told me
and maybe you told them that there’s no
need for them to do that because this is
Dubai and you pride yourself in the fact
that in that situation an Israeli and a
Palestine could be on the same stage and
there will be no issue there will be
100% safety can you talk about that
because you seem very passionate when
you told me that and again as you said
before this is a tough neighborhood I
mean just look around us there’s
conflict there’s lots of Nations
um there’s there’s things happening and
yet in this pocket this Oasis of Dubai
because of your
rules it doesn’t happen here can you
explain yeah and and the example was one
of the exhibitions here uh we had a
person who was uh coming from Israel to
Dubai uh for the launch of their company
here in Dubai and uh first he was
hesitant but they ended up actually uh
coming here and doing the the the speech
that they had to do uh out of respect of
of course they canceled any party or any
other thing because of the situation it
was very early days of that situation in
in Israel and Palestine so uh but the
same guy actually employs Arab Muslim uh
people within his company as well it’s a
multinational company as well and uh the
guy who went on stage with me on stage
actually was was a Muslim guy actually
representing that company so it is it is
Dubai is a land of Tolerance it is a
land of you know living Co existing and
and putting our differences aside and
focusing on uh delivering results
focusing on like I mentioned hope and
yeah it’s a true story and uh and you
can
check you can back check the the story
and I don’t want to name the company of
course or the people but uh it is the
true story that happened Dubai in an
exhibition and I was on stage with a guy
that actually represented the company
and I was flying from London and a
couple people asked me is everything
going to be okay in Dubai um and I
didn’t really think about it but when I
was here uh there was no issue
whatsoever there was no feelings there
was no anything going on you know that
everybody was in a bubble of safety here
contrast that if we had had this
conference at Harvard or at MIT where I
went to school or University of
Pennsylvania or other American cities
You could argue that there they would
have
experienced problems hates
discrimination like that could have
easily happened in any of those other
cities and yet it didn’t happen here
yeah again uh it it is because we in
Dubai are very tolerant uh we understand
that there’s conflict uh in different
places in the world we understand that
there are people that their livelihoods
are are changed there are people who
lost family members and we are sensitive
to that uh but today and and and uh the
Dubai is not the stage for conflict
there’s a stage for conversation open
conversation yes but not to uh you know
put our emotions and and physical
violence in in space yes we can talk
about situation yes you can support uh
whatever cause you think you can support
on social media you can of course uh uh
express your opinion without imposing it
on other people how do you stay safe in
this region how do you stay neutral in
this region because if you look at the
map you know it’s it’s a pretty
interesting group where Straight moves
is right there you have Iran we’re next
to Saudi we’re next to Yemen we’re not
far from the Red Sea which of course
connects Israel and Palestine and
there’s a lot going on around here
there’s warships around you know it’s
really fascinating if you look at the
map we are in the center of a lot of
conflict a lot of action how does the
UAA stay neutral because it’s one of
your greatest exports hope safety maybe
business how do you do it focus on the
positives is is very easy we live in a
tough neighborhood and if you live in a
tough neighborhood you you follow your
path you have your kpis you have your
performance criteria you have the goals
to look forward again hope is the
greatest power in the world looking
forward to to tomorrow not worrying
about the external factors a lot of the
people who who look at conflict as as
their main
driver you imagine waking up every day
and have nothing on your mind but
conflict and nothing on your mind but
sadness or or you know heat towards a
person because of his politics uh
polarization based on religion on any
other Factor imagine waking up not
looking at not not having any negative
energy the opposite of that is having
the positive energy and every day waking
up and understanding that okay today I
have a mission this is what I’m looking
for it’s very structured this very
looking forward uh all the other stuff
could happen in the world of course but
your focus is still on your family your
health your you reorient yourself and
focusing on things that you have an
effect on you might not have an effect
in a conflict uh even 10,000 kilom away
or 20,000 or 100 K or another you know
Universe what you have an effect on is
your immediate family your work your
environment you educating people around
you educating yourself about the
conflict or any other thing you can and
I’m not saying you can can’t but there
are things that are tangible that you
can focus on to make a difference in
your own Circle rather than trying to
you know talk about it talking to people
about it and and really trying to flip
their opinion shouldn’t be your agenda
because the success rate of that and the
influence of that could be there but
they are much more um likely to have a
better effect and have a uh much more
positivity when you focus on yourself
and you focus on your family and focus
on moving forward forward in life
incrementally uh rather than try to
persuade somebody to your opinion I we
say that Dubai is very London real you
know and I’ve had about a thousand
conversations over the last 12 years and
I speak to people and they talk about
being kind of in a low energy vibration
like where you’re in this state of hate
and you’re projecting all of your
problems on other people on other things
it’s a victim mentality it’s their fault
or you can kind of take a higher state
of vibration where you kind of take
extreme own ship of everything you focus
on yourself and if you improve yourself
the rest of the world will see what you
do and they’ll want to follow how can
you contribute towards Humanity um how
can you push yourself beyond your
boundaries in order to get better find
out what’s out there you know uh David
goggin the US Navy SEAL says most of us
quit at 40% as then we have so much more
that we can give that feels like
something you know his Royal Highness
would say here or something you would
say and so this city is very interesting
because it it has so so many parallels
with some of the great parts of humanity
that I’ve been able to uncover with this
show um problem with some of that
negative energy is it it can become very
addictive you know you wake up in hate
hate gives you an emotion and it’s very
easy to repeat that loop it’s someone
else’s fault while you’re not innovating
oh I’m going to go get those people
today and you can fall into these really
negative loops and never go anywhere but
that’s not that’s not the solution the
solution is to build something great and
do you want your children in those same
ha Loops do you want those children in
those same lack of ownership Loops
victim Loops or do you want them
creating great people and great things
um and it’s a real question to ask
people because you seem like you embody
that mentality here um I had a thought
this week and I’m curious what you think
um for me that Dubai in a way feels in a
good way a bit like a Cults a bit like a
group of people that say you know what
we don’t want to live in the world where
your values seem to be this this this
and this we want to think a different
way and we want to be around each other
and we want to set up our own kind of
rules and we want to go do things
differently over here and we feel
comfortable here and we want to be a
part of this way of thinking and that
kind of walk away from the other part of
the world um what do you think about
that analogy I think you mentioned that
the leadership in Dubai is amazing
number one number two they push us
actually so they are the great motivator
you mentioned that it it is a a way of
living right it’s a mentality and
mentality comes actually from our
culture it comes from our religion it
comes from a lot of other influences
that comes from experiences we’ve had in
the past it was not always you know uh
amazing in the B we’ve had we’ve done
we’ve we’ve gone through a lot of
hardship in the B A lot of my my father
and grandfather as early as that had a
lot of hardships growing up a lot of
friction and getting to work uh I I saw
a a documentary a couple of days ago
where it took hours to go from one
Emirate in the in the northern Emirates
just to come to Dubai hours almost days
sometimes because there were no roads
and it was a tough journey and a lot of
people did not make it and a lot of
times you know during these kind of
travel between uh different uh
Emirates and coming from that hardship
and understanding that the prosperity we
got very quickly and relatively speaking
compared to other places we appreciate
that another another thing that
intrinsic to every single imarati is
Unity we know that together we can do
more we were seven small Emirates with
very very small resources all of a
sudden we got good wealth good
prosperity good infrastructure good
leadership and we’re holding on to that
we’re holding out to that hope again
we’re holding on to every single success
that we have we want to genuinely not go
ever back to not being together not ever
go back to being you know um separated
from each other no matter how much
competition we have that does not ruin
our fabric our fabric is always and
always will be working together towards
achievable goals in a systematic way you
said that it’s so extreme some people
can might compared to a cult it is not a
cult it is
Unity Unity is what brings us to
together it’s called the United Arab
Emirates we are Arabs and we are
Emirates but we are first and for
foremost United it’s not only amarati
that feel this way every Arab person
every Muslim person that lives in the Yi
feel at home some people used to call it
second home a lot of people call it
first home now they love it more than
their own country not because of the
physical location but because of the
mentality and the mental state that they
feel when they are here in the UA what
about the foreigners do they feel the
same way 100% because they agree to the
to the idea of the UI it doesn’t matter
what religion you are it doesn’t matter
where you come from when you live in the
U you very quickly consider yourself an
ambassador of the U right you you just
received your golden Visa wasn’t that a
proud moment a so proud I was going to
Tweet out my ID but I realized I have my
information on it and I didn’t but it
was a huge day I was I was yelling and
screaming it’s a big deal I I I feel
honored to be part of this incredible
idea in this ethos and this thing that
is Dubai and the Emirates it’s a huge
deal and every single Foreigner that’s
here I think you have secretly given
them a contract with the minister of
Tourism because all they do is talk
about how great Dubai is and all they do
is tell everybody else that this is the
greatest place on Earth and I I liken it
to Tesla Elon Musk doesn’t do
advertising for Tesla he just builds the
greatest car in the world and when you
have the greatest product in the world
which is the experience of living in
Dubai or having you know um the the
ability to stay here a long period of
time then that customer experience is so
strong that then you just talk about it
to everybody else 100% And and we just W
uh not surprisingly but I’m very very
very uh humbled and and very honored
actually for us in Dubai to win for the
third year in a row the trip
advisor best destination in the world
tourist destination in the world as
voted by by people you know and that’s
exactly what you just said because
people are our best Ambassador tourists
who come here review us genuinely in a
positive way because that’s how they
experienced the Buy and they loved it
and slunder by the way yeah I just saw
that three years in a row you’ve got
that yes and now now it’s the third most
visited destination third or fourth in
the world something like fourth I think
it is or I’m not sure about the numbers
but I’m sure 100% about the trip advisor
100% that we won three years in a row
which is unprecedented anywhere in the
world and again you’re all about the
customer experience which is the
experience of the visitor or the citizen
and you run this place like a business
because that’s how businesses run things
they always ask the customer how did you
do cuz they realize that without the
customer experience they will no longer
exist at some point but I’ve never been
in a place that literally treats the
person like a customer I was telling
someone when I was getting my ID the
person in the government when they
needed me to come back to to get the
picture they gave me their WhatsApp
their personal WhatsApp I told a guy
there I was at the DU by blockchain
Center event you had a couple days ago
and I told a lawyer he came from
Switzerland and he said what what and I
said yeah because they wanted to make
sure I had this really quick low touch
Point experience and that was was all
about when you’re anywhere in Dubai
after something happens they want to
know how did we do when you land on an
Emirates aircraft as soon as it happens
how was the food how was the service how
was everything it’s all about that
feedback loop um I never see that
anywhere else and and that’s it’s an
amazing machine actually that that is Du
buy and you mentioned the feedback loop
there the way we capture feedback loops
is amazing we have this happiness index
that’s live actually so every touch
point you have in theb you have these
three faces uh Happy neutral or not or
or unhappy and uh yeah we we captured it
almost
live so let’s talk about business I was
down at the government buildings a few
days ago um there was a a big conference
I think it was the billion follower
conference and of course I noticed again
the eight principles of Dubai um and I
think those were kind of put forth uh By
His Highness uh you know probably many
years ago and they’re all fascinating um
they talk about the union they talk
about no one is above the law they talk
about the three factors that drive
growth um the unique personality the
economic diversification the land for
talent and they how they care about
future Generations but the one that I
focused on was that we are a business
capital and I thought this was
interesting because I don’t know of any
nation that literally has this in almost
their founding principles and it says
the government of Dubai aims to improve
the lives of its people through
strengthening its economy again no
apologies there in Europe you know they
apologize I think sometimes for their
for their capitalist intentions and it
says duvi does not invest or involve
itself in politics and does not rely on
politics to ensure its competitiveness
this is strong it says we extend a hand
of friendship to those who hold good
intentions toward Dubai and the UAE
Dubai is a politically neutral
business-friendly Global Hub that
focuses on creating economic
opportunities
speak on that because those are strong
words 100% and like I told you external
factors and politics and that kind of
stuff for us we don’t we don’t get
involved in that we focus on on building
relationships we build interpersonal
relationships business relationships
private Public
Partnerships uh a lot of the time a many
models of of success and businesses do
not come in this like client versus uh
server or or uh commercial entity versus
customer or B2B and b2c the lies are
vague sometimes and sometimes the
incentives are vague so you need to
really focus on how to bring value to
everyone involved to the customer to the
partner to the private sector to the
education sector and that’s why even the
ethos of the by blockchain Center is
built in the same way we do not focus on
actual you know money making or anything
like that we focus on bring value to
everyone we focus on building the
ecosystem we focus on the use cases that
will deliver value whether it is to a
government department whether it is to
private sector whether it is to educate
people around the technology that’s uh
emerging so the focus is on delivery the
focus is on the results the focus in on
delivering value and value take for
every single thing um when AI took off
we were one of the first people if not
the first people to have ai initiatives
coming up we had the world’s first AI
Minister way before Chad and all these
things sck off we have an AI ethics
report that came out we had metaverse uh
white paper that came out on telling
people how we perceive the value from
the meterse and how ethical um uh
project in the meterse can be and how we
can work together in a blueprint that
does not invade the privacy of people
that not uh you know create kind of
silos and and really Empower us as a
brand to Showcase Dubai and Dubai values
and different mediums including and not
limited to the metaverse and in gaming
and other Aesthetics we have actually a
yearly event with a line service
focusing on how do we keep the buai
ethically in the right space how to
create a environmental safety for people
as well uh we focused two years ago on
the metaverse last year we focused on
gaming we focus on AI as well so every
single year we try to feel where where
the puck is when it comes to technology
and where people are moving to and
trying to see where we align with that
on the ethics front on the governance
front how do we stand and we wait for
the P feedback loop form academics uh
decision makers Regulators we give it to
all the government departments to hear
their feedback as well and where where
they stand on different front
uh aspect and this conversation is
extremely important a lot of people talk
about Ai and say AI is going this way
it’s going to be harmful and all the
stuff and other people talk in other way
it’s the greatest invention it’s the
next you know wave of
evolution either is it one or other we
don’t know but we can put our thoughts
on how we perceive the value from it and
where we can use AI for good and use
blockchain and cryptocurrencies for good
of course every single technology we
have the first use cases are usually the
or the first value takes is realized by
criminals because it is new not a lot of
people know about it we had that with
mobile phones we’ve had that with
blockchain technology with Bitcoin as a
cryptocurrency we’ve had it with every
single uh Evolution or wave of of
technology and we continue to have it
it’s just it will take time for us to
realize the real value and make that not
only mainstream but ethical and have
ethical uses of it and put the
guardrails around it so we do not divert
from that path which is the the path
where we get the most value and minimize
not eliminate there’s no way we can
eliminate all the harmful effective any
new technology um and doing that will
actually help us a lot in realizing not
only what we can do uh as humans but
what we can do for each other uh for
example an AI you can use it to create
the world’s most sophisticated weapon or
you can create the most efficient engine
or the the best you know PA or helper or
white CER kind of
supplementation where do we put our
effort in harm or in good this is this
is the the bottom line and if we wanted
to guard real this technology how do we
do it what are the technology that will
help how much money and effort and time
should we put in that should we go to
market very quickly with certain things
versus others and there’s a lot of other
ethical issues as well that can be
discussed with this uh technology it’s
very early days but we have to start the
conversation from now because
conversation is the only way we can
bridge the gap otherwise you’ll think in
your own way I’ll think in my own way
everybody will perceive it in their own
context we need to align and we need to
talk about uh the emerging de and you’re
a huge proponent of not just talking
about Ai and talking about blockchain
and throwing these buzzwords around as
sometimes governments do without any
results for you it’s about okay that
then what is the Practical steps and
then what is the feedback loop to where
we can really find out if we can use
this technology and I know you were
early in adopting blockchain for some
things and you were early in abandoning
it in certain aspects of the government
because you’re all about fast feedback
loops and real world real world use of
these Technologies as said we started
the blockchain uh uh strategy in 2016 we
finished by 2020 we realized all the
applicable use cases AI we started way
before we have the AI Ethics Committee
in still Dubai we have ai ethics white
paper as well we have a lot of other
Publications that came out we got the
feedback look we changed it we have
working groups all the time to deal with
AI we have a center for artificial
intelligence which was launched by sh
hamdan B Muhammad the Crown Prince of
Dubai and the youth for for that are
already live you know so there are a lot
of Pilots as well there’s a lot of other
work groups that are realizing within
each government departments and with a
central entity hold hand handholding
each one of those news cases moving
forward let’s talk about the big
aspirations of this region um literally
the tallest building in the world is
kind of right down the road um you built
I think you told me more new beachfront
property than any nation in the world
pal Jamira I get to look at every single
day and uh the other night you drove me
around another one of the man-made kind
of islands that’s pushing out into the
sea and I think I made a a note of wow
isn’t what amazing you can build in in
the Emirates and you said no Brian we
always collaborate with the best in the
world um the Burj Khalifa was a
collaboration the Palm Jamira was a
collaboration and then you went on to
tell me a story is that you you found
the best of the best to help you build
your vision and I think at the time for
building the palom jira it was uh the
Dutch and the Japanese because the Dutch
had been reclaiming Land from the ocean
for centuries and the Japanese had built
that airport I think in the ocean and so
you asked them to help you build the
project and I think the first feedback
they gave you was uh this is impossible
and you should just not bother and I
believe your reply was we didn’t ask for
your opinion we asked for you to help us
build it that is is very emirati that
attitude can you talk about that
attitude having these big Bodacious
goals these um visions and dreams that
last beyond a lifetime and I still don’t
understand how everybody here seems to
think of that as the default option when
you dream of the future not 10% better
20% better let’s build the biggest and
the best and let’s build things that be
hard to even dream of and then show the
world that we did it and then continue
going in almost this strange positive
feedback clbe so it’s a few questions
but your thoughts on what I just said
yeah I’ll give you a very good example
so so ell musk himself when when he came
to duai he had this kot uh um at the
footsteps of the B Khalifa and uh in the
middle of his talk he was uh talking
about the T statistics numbers what they
doing and how impossible it was and what
people were saying as as as as uh never
going to happen uh for in the context of
Tesla and Midway through his speech he
stopped and he looked he’s like the B
khif and he was like wow you guys get
things done so you know if if we can
impress uh Elon Musk as Dubai I think I
think Dubai is doing the right thing I
think to aim high and to aim to be the
best it sends a very soft message but
very strong signal that we mean business
and his high said it very very very
clearly in the eight principles we are
here to set new standards we are here to
be the business Hub we are here to drive
you to every single person here in the U
to wake up wanting to be part of the
story one thing wanting to be a part of
that narrative that I am involved in
this the guy who was the The Bu
Khalifa you know uh project was not an
architect he was not he he worked in Du
economy and tourism where I work right
now and and he built the world big sping
you don’t need to be uh the world’s best
architect to build the tallest building
you just need uh motivation you need the
Insight you need that real good drive
behind you you need to try you you will
try and you will fail and you will try
again because you are not occupied with
doing anything else you are really
focused laser focused even on getting
things done laser focused on your vision
laser focused on your goal drive to do
better you are always driven to do what
is best for you what is best worldwide
why even for second best you all should
always work work towards
first there is no second place this is a
theal this is is Muhammad’s mentality
you always aim for number one you never
aim for second place nobody thinks about
second place you also said you know
don’t compete with other people you
should be competing with who you were
yesterday
100% you will sit your own bar right you
world’s tallest building you should not
compete who else build tallest building
your aim is build to build this is your
goal it’s not a competition there a
rumor you might uh have a building that
might be bigger than your current
tallest building in the works why not
why not why not you also said last time
and I think it was a sist shik Muhammad
that once said uh everybody here when
you wake up in the morning you wake up
and get ready to run you know I think
you said whether you’re the lion or
you’re the
gazelle everyone kind of expected to
wake up and run what did you mean by
that yes and it’s actually in his is
book The the the president CEO so um um
the Sheik CEO I think it’s called the it
is the ethos of the buy right you wake
up have goals in your mind you
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Dr Marwan Alzarouni is an internationally recognised blockchain expert, keynote speaker and strategic advisor. As one of the Middle East’s most well-known crypto pioneers, he has been at the forefront of supporting and promoting blockchain technology within the region.
In the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain technology, few individuals stand out as prominently as this man. What he and his team are achieving in Dubai is pushing the boundaries, testing the limits of our imagination and reimagining what the cities of our future might look like.
Dr Marwan boasts a career spanning over two decades, marked by significant contributions to emerging technology, information security, digital forensics, and artificial intelligence.
Alongside being the Strategic Advisor to Digital Dubai, Dr Marwan is also the CEO of the Dubai Blockchain Centre. If anything sums up Dubai’s commitment to the technology of tomorrow it is the Blockchain Centre, a place where educators, investors and developers come together to share thoughts and ideas.
Cointelegraph named Dr Marwan in the Top 100 most influential people in crypto, and with such lofty goals as making the UAE the global leader in blockchain innovation, while ensuring Dubai is the happiest place to live on the planet, it’s little wonder why.
Most significantly, Dr Marwan is currently the Strategic Advisor at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, testament to his wealth of experience, vision for the future and incredible efforts he’s made in bringing the smartest and sharpest talent in the world of technology to work here in Dubai.
Thanks to Dr Marwan’s work, Dubai has become home to the world’s first made-for-purpose regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Rather than imposing traditional financial regulations onto crypto, VARA was developed collaboratively with stakeholders, fostering a regulatory environment that encourages innovation.
In the midst of these achievements, Dr. Marwan remains focused on the community’s success, emphasising the city’s commitment to enabling businesses and contributing to their narratives. As a city of merchants, Dubai operates with a unique ethos, running for the success of businesses because their success is inherently tied to the city’s prosperity.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, Dr. Marwan’s leadership, vision, and commitment to innovation position him as a central figure in shaping the future of blockchain technology, not only in Dubai but on the global stage.
I’m really looking forward to finding out what else Dr Marwan has in store for the future. With so much happening in the world of technology, crypto and AI, this is sure to be an enlightening conversation!
It’s so important to be well informed and aware of what the future holds. There’s money to be made, investments that need to happen and opportunities for growth, and there really is no better time than right now to get yourself up to speed.