AI & Lawmaking in the UAE: A Bold Step Forward

In a recent article, the Financial Times highlighted the UAE’s bold new move to harness artificial intelligence to draft, review, and amend legislation — an initiative expected to increase lawmaking efficiency by up to 70%, according to the UAE Office of Regulatory Intelligence (ORI). “This new legislative system, powered by artificial intelligence, will change the way laws are created, making the process faster and more accurate,” claimed UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

The plan, which goes further than similar efforts seen globally, seeks to turn AI into a form of "co-legislator", creating a legislative system and jurisprudential framework that anticipates legal needs and updates rules in real time. Given that much of Dubai’s legal framework draws on English common law principles, there is an obvious efficiency in deploying AI to manage and streamline the legislative process, which has been tried and tested in England and the commonwealth for hundreds of years. The UAE has already shown itself to be adept at rapidly modernising its legal and regulatory frameworks (one only needs to look at the success of its arbitration centre and independent free zone authorities by way of example). The introduction of AI could help further speed up this evolution and place the UAE in a league of its own.

The details of the co-legislative tool(s), and most importantly, its/their autonomy, is not entirely clear. As such, it is important to approach this development with a degree of caution. While AI can assist with labour-intensive drafting and data-heavy analysis, it is not yet trained to appropriately capture the nuances, context, and human judgement that underpin effective lawmaking, and which has been the basis of the common law's international adaptation and success. The suggestion that AI tools will be used as part of the crafting of the laws themselves can therefore come across as concerning if not accompanied by a suitable human element.

As researchers quoted in the Financial Times noted, AI systems can "hallucinate" information and may propose changes that make logical sense to a machine but fail when applied to human society. The risks of hallucinations, which are different to but commensurate with the risks of human error, are serious and should not be allowed to pervade the rule of law and risk undermining the reputation of the UAE. Fortunately, the UAE Supreme Federal Court can invalidate laws which are deemed unconstitutional or violate fundamental principles and serve as a "fail-safe" to counter the impact of any hallucinations. However, one would hope that appropriate checks and balances ensure that valuable court resources are not dispensed to combat the faults of AI.

Many legislatures around the world currently employ human analysis that sifts through proposed legislation and produces reports on any problems or technical considerations for further review. As part of the UAE's most recent proposals, it could focus the AI tools on this "problem-solving" element at a much greater scale and speed (with the supervision of technical experts). This would allow lawmakers to easily flag issues and enquire with AI tools regarding how certain provisions could be adapted to be more fit-for-purpose (as the context allows). This would achieve the core aims of the ORI in the sense that this would take away much of the administrative cost of lawmaking, allow laws to be adapted and published at pace, and hedge against human error, while simultaneously reducing the risk of hallucinations.

The move is undoubtedly ambitious and showcases the UAE’s commitment to technological innovation. It also demonstrates a daring confrontation of the growing complexities of international business and wealth structuring, of which the UAE is at the epicentre, which demand forward-thinking and dynamic solutions. For now, it is clear that AI should be viewed as a supportive tool that assists lawmakers, not replacing them. Human oversight, expertise and careful judgement will remain essential in crafting laws that are not only clear, efficient and fit for purpose but also fair, workable and principled.

At Boodle Hatfield, we continue to advise individuals, families and businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions, including the UAE and its independent financial authorities. As legislative and regulatory frameworks evolve at pace, we are committed to helping our clients navigate these changes, providing clear, practical and forward-thinking advice to protect their interests and support their ambitions.