Despite advances in AI, experts insist humans must remain central to decision-making
With electric air taxis all set to take off in the UAE later this year, global mobility leaders say the country’s unique mix of forward-thinking regulation and safety standards could make it one of the world’s first proving grounds for autonomous transport.
The move will begin with piloted electric air taxis before gradually introducing higher levels of automation.
“We’ll be launching our air taxi service here with piloted aircraft later this year,” said Joeben Bevirt, CEO of Joby Aviation. “Then we’ll move to progressive levels of autonomy over time.”
He was speaking at a panel on the future of mobility at the World Government Summit (WGS) 2026 and pointed out that the country is a rare environment where emerging technologies can be tested in real-world conditions without compromising public safety. “There’s not a lot of general aviation here compared to the US,” he said. “That gives the UAE an incredible opportunity to be an early adopter and a sandbox for autonomous aircraft.”
The same approach is being applied beyond aviation, with autonomous systems on the ground following a similar regulatory path. Fellow panelist Daniil Shuleyko, CEO of Yango Group, commended UAE for its sandbox environment. “We shouldn’t wait until the technology is untouchable or unbelievable,” he said. “We need to implement it step by step, in some areas, in some routes, in some cities.”
He highlighted Yango’s work deploying delivery robots in controlled districts. “Here in the UAE, we start in one district together with the regulator. If it works, we scale to the next area. That’s the right way.”
Safety
Despite advances in AI, both leaders insisted humans must remain central to decision-making.
“The most crucial part of the system is still humans,” Daniil said. Bevirt agreed. “Autonomy works best when humans are there for oversight and rare edge cases. That’s already how aviation operates today.”
As autonomous systems become commonplace, Daniil warned that public acceptance could become the real challenge. “It’s easy to love the first five robots. It’s harder when there are thousands.”
That is why, he said, emotion matters. “We add lights that look like eyes. We add voices. Not because technology needs it, but because people do.”
Dubai’s smart mobility vision
The session was kicked off with an opening keynote by Mattar Al Tayer, Director General of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) who outlined Dubai’s smart mobility vision. He said that the emirate was initially rolling out 100 autonomous vehicles and aims to increase that to 1,000 cars in a short period.
Dubai’s leadership in autonomy dates back to 2016. “We set a clear goal — 25 per cent of all transportation to be autonomous by 2030,” he said. “This was not just about technology, but about reducing costs, emissions, and road congestion.”
He added that there were several factors that were influencing the mobility landscape. “Climate change is driving a shift towards zero emissions,” he said. “Artificial intelligence is optimising traffic infrastructure. Cities worldwide are responding by redesigning air and road transport. Dubai is not responding to the future. We are leading the way.”
He pointed out that residents spend nine per cent of their income on transport and the RTA was focusing to make mobility efficient, safe, and sustainable.
