DUBAI: When it comes to ambition to cultivate artificial intelligence in the Arab world, the sky is the only limit, the head of Dubai Future Foundation said on Monday night.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 an abundance of talent around the Arab world. It鈥檚 just a matter of enabling the talent and creating the right ecosystem for talent to thrive,鈥� said Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the DFF.

On the sidelines of the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, a high-profile Arab News-Google event brought together executives, editors, policymakers and more to discuss the future of media in the region.

鈥淭he digital economy requires specific skill sets. And I think we鈥檙e seeing so many success stories that are happening, whether it鈥檚 on the entrepreneurial side or whether it鈥檚 on the coding front.

鈥淭he sky鈥檚 the limit on where the Arab world can reach. The numbers are rising on the digital economy point of view and we are very optimistic.鈥�

Belhoul outlined several key predictions for media over the next year, from the shift in how people consume media, to its duration.

During the event, which was part of a series of celebrations for the newspaper鈥檚 50th anniversary, Arab News unveiled a new podcast series exploring five decades of pivotal events that have shaped the Middle East.

The project, powered by Google鈥檚 AI research tool NotebookLM, features artificial hosts and AI-generated voices, show how emerging technologies can enhance storytelling, research, and historical reflection in journalism.

Each episode highlights a different decade, tracing key moments from 1975 to the present day.