Kindergarteners in the UAE are learning AI before they learn cursive.

But this story is about much more than technology in classrooms.

In this episode of Rethinking Tech, Aparna and Harinda unpack why the UAE is introducing AI education at such a young age — and how this fits into a much bigger national strategy to build a post-oil future.

At the center of this conversation is a deeper question: should every country try to compete in the AI race, or should governments focus on the specific role they can realistically play in an AI-driven world?

What this episode explores

• Why the UAE is teaching AI to young children
• How AI education fits into a post-oil economic strategy
• Why petrostates may have an advantage in the AI race
• Whether most countries can realistically compete with the US and China
• Why some governments may be chasing AI as a shiny object
• How countries can find a unique role instead of trying to become the next Silicon Valley

Why this matters

AI is becoming part of national strategy.

Not just for companies, but for governments trying to decide what their economies should become.

The UAE has the capital to make a bold bet: build an AI-ready workforce from the ground up and position itself as a future talent pipeline.

But many other countries face a harder choice. They may not have the money, infrastructure, energy, or institutions to compete at the top of the AI race.

So the real question is not whether every country should “do AI.”

It is whether they can find the part of the AI economy where they can actually win.

About Rethinking Tech

Rethinking Tech explores the intersection of technology, geopolitics, business, and ethics — focusing on how systems actually work, not just how they’re talked about.