How the UAE Is Using AI to Build the World’s Largest Arabic Language Resources

National Strategy: Safeguarding and Modernizing Arabic

The UAE has launched a comprehensive, AI-driven initiative aimed at preserving and advancing the Arabic language. This ambitious effort involves developing advanced digital tools such as AI-powered dictionaries, readability platforms, and native language models designed to reflect the cultural and linguistic richness of Arabic.

Falcon Arabic: A Game-Changing Language Model

Central to this initiative is Falcon Arabic, a homegrown AI language model developed by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and the Advanced Technology Research Council. Trained exclusively on high-quality Arabic datasets—including Modern Standard Arabic and various dialects—Falcon Arabic offers remarkable accuracy and cultural relevance despite being smaller than many competing models. It rivals others ten times its size, setting a new standard for Arabic natural language processing.

Another variant, Falcon-H1, delivers exceptional performance and efficiency, outperforming global counterparts such as Meta and Alibaba models.

AI Tools Across Sectors: Education, Publishing, and Research

AI integration extends beyond language models to support multiple sectors:

• Historical Dictionary of Arabic Language: Originating in Sharjah, this digital dictionary now contains over 20 million entries and includes innovative features like text-to-video conversion.
  
• Digital Knowledge Hub: Managed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, this platform provides access to 800,000+ titles and 8.5 million digital items, encompassing specialized collections across disciplines.
  
• AI-powered Arabic-English Dictionary: Launched by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, it offers clear definitions, pronunciation guides, grammar assistance, examples, and images, utilizing advanced computational linguistics.

Global Outreach and Cultural Preservation

The UAE’s initiative aims to elevate Arabic’s global digital presence while preserving its rich heritage. By embedding AI tools in education, research, and publishing, the country ensures that Arabic remains a vibrant and evolving language fit for the digital age.

Arabic is spoken by hundreds of millions worldwide. Investing in AI technologies helps keep the language relevant, accessible, and ready for future technological advances. From classrooms to digital content platforms, this initiative is redefining how people learn, read, and interact in Arabic.