The rise of the machines

Responsible for vast volumes of technical data and customer information, the world’s electricity and water industry is increasingly turning to AI to provide the secure, state-of-the-art services that today’s cities demand.

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A futuristic AI-driven command center

Earlier this year, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) inaugurated a Digital Command Center that uses AI to monitor and manage the company’s ever-expanding digital infrastructure and service channels.

The facility has a dual function: on the one hand it monitors customer-facing operations such as the company’s mobile app and website, trawling through data to determine how DEWA is performing when it comes to customer service.

“Future services and infrastructure will depend on the application of AI.”
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO, DEWA

On the other, the center monitors the company’s critical electricity and water networks, including its smart grid meter systems, flagging up any incidents and detecting any change in the performance of the infrastructure. Harnessing the power of AI, the facility is able to analyze the operations of a whole series of industrial components and identify just where new infrastructure or maintenance may be required.

Robots join the customer service team

“By implementing AI technology, DEWA aims to ensure high-quality services at all times,” explains HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

“Innovation is the cornerstone for our continuous improvement and for the enhanced competitiveness of all our operations.”

To help prepare for the challenges of the future, DEWA senior executives attended a AI Leadership Program in cooperation with experts from the University of California, Berkeley.

“We want to consolidate Dubai’s role as a leading center for experimenting with disruptive solutions and technologies, especially with AI,” Al Tayer saysfull_stop

As published in TIME magazine