Machines Can Think 2026 opens in Abu Dhabi with 1,500 global AI experts
Machines Can Think 2026, Abu Dhabi’s flagship executive summit for AI adopters, opened this week bringing together 1,500 experts from more than 30 countries to explore the future of applied artificial intelligence. The two-day event is co-organised and co-hosted by Polynome Group and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI).
The summit opened with a keynote address by Yann LeCun, Professor at New York University, who examined the evolution of objective-driven AI, focusing on world models, reasoning capabilities, efficiency, and the transition beyond pattern recognition toward more reliable, goal-oriented decision-making in real-world environments.
Machines Can Think 2026 convenes global innovators, UAE government leaders, academic researchers, and private-sector decision-makers to address AI adoption at scale, with a strong emphasis on governance, infrastructure, and measurable impact. In his opening remarks, Alexander Khanin, Founder and Director of Polynome Group, described the summit as a platform designed to move beyond vision-setting toward informed debate and practical outcomes.
Khanin said discussions throughout the summit align with the UAE’s 2031 AI Strategy and its ambition to build the world’s first AI-native government, highlighting a maturing approach to artificial intelligence where accountability, long-term value, and real-world impact accompany innovation.
The two-day agenda features more than 50 sessions, spanning technical, strategic, and policy-focused discussions. Day one included sessions across the Co-Evolution and Tech tracks, with topics such as AI factories and national-scale infrastructure, advances in world models, video generation technologies, enterprise AI intelligence, drug discovery, and foundation models for biology.
Practical implementation was addressed through workshops focused on public-sector deployment, sovereign AI, proof-backed AI systems, executive decision-making, and building AI-first organisational cultures. Governance, investment, and societal implications were explored through sessions examining AI safety, innovation economics, and the intersection of technology, business, and urban development. Sector-specific discussions covered life sciences, education, personalised human phenotyping, and the knowledge economy.
Andrey Doronichev, CEO of Bioptic, said the summit’s strength lies in connecting researchers, infrastructure builders, and industry practitioners across the full AI stack. He noted that the region is approaching an inflection point where infrastructure is advancing rapidly, while long-term growth will depend on attracting specialised scientific talent and deepening research capabilities.
Machines Can Think 2026 forms part of the wider Machines Can Summits series, which has grown into a global reference point for applied AI dialogue. The series has engaged a 25,000-strong global AI community, generated more than six million online interactions, and welcomed participants from over 82 countries, supporting partnerships, research collaborations, and strategic agreements.
The summit is supported by a broad ecosystem of partners, including MBZUAI, Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Police, e&, Yango Group, Hub71 Orbit, Women in AI, and several regional and international technology and investment organisations.
Machines Can Think 2026 continues today with sessions focused on responsible AI scaling and embedding artificial intelligence into long-term national and enterprise strategies.
