Dr. Hanan Aldarmaki is helping shape the UAE’s approach to artificial intelligence by researching Arabic language and speech technologies, including regional dialects.
Aldarmaki is director of the Center for Teaching and Learning and an assistant professor of natural language processing at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). She joined the university in 2022 as its first woman and first Emirati faculty member.
Her work focuses on natural language and speech processing for Arabic and other low-resource languages. Arabic’s wide range of regional dialects presents a particular challenge for AI systems, while spoken Emirati Arabic adds further nuance.
Through Ramsa Lab, a national initiative focused on documenting spoken Emirati dialects, researchers are building resources that could help AI systems better represent the UAE’s language and culture. The work may also support the preservation of oral cultural knowledge.
Women account for 54% of the Emirati student population in MBZUAI’s 2026–27 cohort, according to the article. Aldarmaki’s own academic path included an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in computer science from George Washington University.
She encourages girls interested in AI to build strong technical expertise, arguing that knowledge gives them a role in deciding how the technology develops. For Aldarmaki, AI should remain a tool for human prosperity and a sustainable future.
Source: Fast Company Middle East
