DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Wearing a “Tech Support”-printed T-shirt, Elon Musk virtually took to the stage on the final day of the World Governments Summit in a live discussion with H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, to share his vision for improving government efficiency.

Musk emphasized the urgency of streamlining operations, advocating for smaller, more accountable institutions to drive efficiency and economic growth.

The World Governments Summit, held in Dubai from February 11-13, brought together global leaders and experts to address critical challenges in governance, healthcare, and trade in the 21st century.

Now in its 12th edition, the Summit unveiled a suite of insights, key results, and actionable solutions developed by top policymakers, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world.

Musk stated: “We have the rule of bureaucracy as opposed to the rule of the people” and advocated for cutting regulations and government spending to stimulate economic growth, aiming for 4-5% growth without inflation by 2026.

“The overarching goal is to lay the foundation for prosperity that will last many decades, maybe centuries,” Musk added. He stressed the importance of updating government technology, noting that many systems are outdated and inefficient, such as the manual pension system. “The U.S. government needs tech support,” he quipped.

On foreign policy, Musk stated, “America should mind its own business rather than push for regime change,” signaling a shift towards less international interference. He also stressed the need to improve basic education, pointing out the U.S.’s low ranking in the OECD.

Musk also discussed Grok 3.0, his latest AI model set to launch in 1-2 weeks, calling it “scary smart.” He added, “This might be the last time any AI is better than Grok.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group, a user and admirer of Grok, argued that the value of AI isn’t in having the smartest systems, but in their application in solving real-world problems.

He compared AI development to raising children, emphasizing that not everyone needs the “smartest child.” He predicts that more resources will shift towards practical applications, leveraging open-source tools, which democratize AI development. He added: “Companies big and small can now develop AI together and contribute to the power of AI.”

Beyond AI, both Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, said they looked forward to the imminent age of quantum computing, which they believe will spearhead the world into a new era.

Pichai said: “Google’s quantum computing performed a computation in five minutes that would take the fastest supercomputer over 10 septillion years.” He compared its current state to AI in the 2010s, predicting practical applications within 5-10 years.

Pichai added that for governments: “It’s too early to regulate the technology, but I think it’s important to come to a good understanding of it and then start preparing for it.”

Technology as the enabler of the new age of healthcare and education

Public healthcare systems also require innovation and new policies, argued experts at the Summit. Addressing key challenges in healthcare, Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, encouraged governments to develop policies that enable early disease diagnostics, improve accessibility, and encourage population-wide adoption.

Soriot stated: “Seventy-five percent of deaths come from diseases that are preventable, yet governments only spend 3% of healthcare budgets on prevention and early diagnosis.” He added that diagnostic centers should run 24/7 to reduce costs and increase accessibility.

He highlighted AI’s role in transforming healthcare, noting that it is already enhancing early diagnostics, such as lung cancer detection from X-rays, and improving efficiency in drug development. While skepticism exists around AI's role in drug design due to limited biological data, its potential in healthcare is promising.

“We are not far away from the days when a simple blood test would enable early diagnostics of cancer at a relatively low cost,” Soriot concluded.

Public-private partnerships and innovative healthcare models could further improve accessibility and cost-efficiency, helping transform global healthcare systems.

This applies beyond just healthcare. Mike Sicilia, Executive Vice President of Oracle, stated: “At the heart of every AI strategy is a data strategy. Helping governments vectorize and aggregate the data is the first step in applied AI, particularly when tailoring it to specific citizen services.”

AI applications in education were also a major focus at the Summit. David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, explored the potential of AI in educating young users through interactive experiences on the platform. He also emphasized the importance of balancing social connectivity and safety on digital platforms.

He added: “We are at a place where it is way beyond what we imagined. In 20 years, I’m expecting an amazing amount of learning on the platform—for instance, interacting with virtual historical characters.”

Global economic challenges and financial cooperation

In parallel discussions, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, alongside finance ministers, international officials, and economic experts, explored the challenges facing the multilateral cooperation system, including rising nationalist and geopolitical trends, climate change, and economic inequality.

Speakers highlighted the need for innovative financing mechanisms and an expanded global financial safety net to address economic crises and support developing countries.

They also underlined the role of technology in strengthening financial systems, aligning global networks to protect against economic crises, and building sustainable frameworks for debt management in vulnerable economies.