The share of UAE job postings requiring AI skills has more than tripled from 1.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2025, according to PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer. Professionals with AI capabilities now command wage premiums of up to 92% in financial services and 50% in technology, media and telecoms, reflecting acute shortages of skilled workers rather than simply higher-paying industries. Demand is dominated by “AI users”—finance professionals, marketers and HR specialists who apply commercially available tools—growing 28% over the past year, signalling that AI literacy is becoming a baseline career requirement across the economy.

The rapid embedding of AI into daily work coincides with renewed scrutiny of its cognitive effects. Researchers at MIT, including Nataliya Kosmyna, published findings last year showing that individuals who used generative AI for writing essays performed worse over time than those who used search engines or no aid. This echoes the “Google effect” identified in 2011, where people recalled where to find information better than the information itself. Kosmyna argues that AI differs fundamentally from past tools like calculators because of its pervasive, conversational nature, raising questions about long-term impacts on memory, creativity and critical thinking.

Viewed from Latin America, the challenge is not merely technical but educational. Commentators in Argentina note that while governments and companies promote AI training courses, far less attention is paid to teaching citizens how to evaluate AI-generated content critically. The concern is that without deliberate digital literacy policies, the cognitive offloading enabled by AI could erode deep work and discernment, skills that remain essential for complex problem-solving. In Mexico, the upcoming World Business Forum will address how leaders can combine data-driven AI tools with human empathy and adaptability, as 55% of Spanish business leaders surveyed by The Adecco Group say AI improves decision-making.

The infrastructure underpinning this transformation is also becoming a strategic priority. Oman is positioning itself as a regional AI data centre hub, leveraging its geographic location between Asia, Africa and Europe, modern telecommunications and renewable energy potential. Such facilities, purpose-built for high-performance computing, are seen in Muscat as essential for digital sovereignty and attracting foreign investment. The next milestone will be how quickly national strategies and regulatory frameworks can match the pace of AI adoption, with the UAE’s AI-exposed occupations already showing a skills transformation score of 7.22, well above the global average of 4.47, indicating that workers will need to update their capabilities more frequently.