I doubt the Emiratis have much interest in monetisation. The value they’re probably looking for is in LLMs as a media asset.
Just like Al Jazeera is valuable for Qataris and sports are valuable for the Saudis. These assets create goodwill domestically and with international stakeholders. Sometimes they make money, but that’s secondary.
If people spend a few hours a day talking to LLMs there’s some media value there.
They may also fear that Western models would be censored or licensed in a way harmful to UAE security and cultural objectives. Imagine if Llama 4’s license prevented military use without approval by some American agency.
Just like Al Jazeera is valuable for Qataris and sports are valuable for the Saudis. These assets create goodwill domestically and with international stakeholders. Sometimes they make money, but that’s secondary.
If people spend a few hours a day talking to LLMs there’s some media value there.
They may also fear that Western models would be censored or licensed in a way harmful to UAE security and cultural objectives. Imagine if Llama 4’s license prevented military use without approval by some American agency.