Alexander Khanin, Founder, Polynome Group, explains that the Machines Can Think Summit (MCT Summit) provides unmatched access to global AI expertise, real‑world deployment frameworks, and national‑scale system design, helping enterprises, governments, and partners build mature, scalable, and secure AI capabilities aligned with regional priorities.
What makes Machines Can Think a uniquely influential AI summit in the MENA region?
The MCT Summit, as part of the global Machines Can community, is distinguished by its roster of speakers — experts in AI, technology, and investment from around the world. For the fourth year running, we have been bringing top minds in AI to the UAE, which in turn leads to new technological partnerships, large-scale projects, and deals.
The UAE provides a rare setting for this conversation. It treats AI as foundational infrastructure, alongside energy and connectivity, rather than as a standalone technology trend. With global AI spending projected to reach $2 trillion by 2026 and AI expected to contribute $320 billion to the Middle East’s GDP by 2030, the region is rapidly transitioning from vision to system-building.
Machines Can Think reflects that maturity. Its agenda spans national AI architecture, frontier research, investment strategy, and public-sector deployment, giving participants visibility into how large-scale AI systems are actually built and operated. That combination of ambition, coordination, and execution is what gives the summit its influence.
The summit focuses heavily on AI in production. Why is this practical, real-world orientation so important for enterprises in the region?
Enterprises in the Middle East are operating in environments defined by scale, complexity, and rapid growth. AI only delivers value when it is embedded into live operations that manage risk, allocate resources, and support decision-making under real constraints. A production-first orientation ensures that discussions move beyond isolated use cases toward systems that can operate reliably across sectors and geographies.
This matters commercially. Research shows that organisations that scale AI effectively can achieve profit growth of nearly 40%, but those gains depend on integration with infrastructure, governance, and workforce capability. Without that alignment, intelligence remains fragmented and difficult to trust.
Machines Can Think anchors its programme on how AI behaves once deployed in critical systems, from energy networks and public services to telecoms and finance. By focusing on operational reality rather than theoretical promise, the summit gives enterprises the frameworks they need to design AI that is resilient, accountable, and capable of delivering measurable outcomes at scale.
How does the summit support the UAE’s ambition to build the world’s first AI-native government, aligned with the UAE 2031 AI Strategy?
The UAE’s ambition to operate as an AI-native government requires more than advanced models. It depends on coordinated systems that align data, compute, governance, and human capability across institutions. Machines Can Think supports this ambition by acting as a working forum for those systems, rather than a showcase of isolated technologies.
The summit brings together policymakers, researchers, and delivery teams to examine how intelligence can be directly embedded into public services, regulatory frameworks, and national platforms. Sessions explore accountability, sovereignty, and operational design, all of which are central to the UAE 2031 AI Strategy.
This alignment is already producing results. The UAE’s AI economy is projected to reach $170 billion by 2030, supported by integrated national initiatives rather than fragmented pilots. By focusing on how governments design AI-enabled systems that operate continuously and responsibly, Machines Can Think helps translate national ambition into practical architectures that can be sustained over the long term.
How is Machines Can Think helping channel partners build the skills and capabilities needed to deliver AI-driven solutions at scale?
To be a trusted, long-term partner in AI for business, you must first and foremost understand your clients’ real pain points that AI technologies can solve here and now. You should also have the broadest and most up-to-date knowledge of the development of these technologies and products.
The summit’s workshops and technical sessions focus on system-level thinking rather than individual tools. Partners engage directly with researchers, platform providers, and public-sector leaders who are building large-scale AI infrastructure. This helps close the gap between product knowledge and real-world delivery capability.
Skills development is particularly urgent, especially given the UAE’s fast-growing labour market. The nation’s demand for technology roles is forecast to grow by 54% by 2030, creating pressure on integrators to upskill quickly while maintaining quality and trust. By grounding education in real-world use cases and governance frameworks, Machines Can Think equips partners with the fluency needed to design scalable, secure solutions aligned with regional priorities.
What role do system integrators and solution providers play in accelerating enterprise AI adoption through the insights and connections made at the summit?
System integrators and solution providers are the translators between research, infrastructure, and enterprise reality. Their role is to turn advanced capability into systems that organisations can operate with confidence. Machines Can Think strengthens that role by giving integrators direct access to the people shaping AI platforms, policy, and investment at scale.
The summit surfaces how AI systems are architected across sectors such as energy, telecom, and government, allowing partners to see patterns that repeat across industries. This insight helps integrators design solutions that are modular, governed, and resilient rather than bespoke and fragile.
Equally important is the network. Machines Can Think connects partners with global vendors, national platforms, and enterprise buyers who are aligned around long-term system building. These relationships shorten delivery cycles and reduce integration risk. In a region where 62% of organisations already use AI in at least one business function, integrators play a critical role in ensuring that adoption is coherent, secure, and scalable.
How can Machines Can Think help system integrators and solution providers accelerate real-world AI adoption across the region?
Acceleration comes from reducing uncertainty. Machines Can Think helps integrators do this by making AI system design visible and discussable. Partners see how infrastructure, governance, and talent are aligned in successful deployments, which lowers the risk of fragmented or incompatible solutions.
The summit also clarifies where demand is consolidating. With 69% of organisations in the region planning to increase AI investment in 2026, integrators need clear signals about platform direction, regulatory expectations, and sector priorities. Machines Can Think provides that signal by convening decision-makers who influence procurement, standards, and long-term strategy.
By focusing on operational systems rather than point solutions, the summit enables partners to move faster with greater confidence. It shifts the conversation from selling tools to building capability, helping integrators deliver AI solutions that enterprises can trust, govern, and scale across their organisations.
How does the summit enable channel players to connect with global AI vendors and accelerate go-to-market execution in the region?
Machines Can Think creates a rare environment where global AI vendors, regional enterprises, and delivery partners align around shared system requirements. This alignment is essential for effective go-to-market execution. Channel players gain early visibility into vendor roadmaps, architectural priorities, and integration standards that will shape procurement decisions across the region.
With 1,500+ global AI leaders from more than 30 countries, it concentrates decision-makers who influence adoption across government and industry. For partners, this shortens the distance between product capability and customer demand. Conversations move quickly from awareness to application because all parties are working within the same operational context.
By grounding engagement in real deployment frameworks, Machines Can Think helps channel players position solutions that fit regional infrastructure, governance, and market needs. This clarity allows partners to move faster, reduce friction in delivery, and build stronger, longer-term relationships with both vendors and customers.
