The United Arab Emirates plans to phase out airport immigration officials in favor of artificial intelligence.
The UAE Ministry of the Interior plans to replace all people in the airport immigration service with artificial intelligence systems by 2020.
Major General Ahmed al-Raisi confirmed the relevant plans for the Abu Dhabi International Airport, which will be opened next year.
“We started by scanning the iris and face recognition, and in the end, we won’t need immigration officers at all,” he said.
Employee withdrawal plans follow the launch of the so-called smart tunnel at Dubai Airport at the Gitex Technology Week in October. The system uses face recognition technology to determine the identity of passengers without human intervention. At Dubai International Airport, there are already smart exits that require only scanning a passenger’s passport or Emirates ID.
Al-Raisi said the main challenge in introducing new technologies will be to ensure that employees are properly trained in their use. He claims that these ministries, combined with artificial intelligence technologies, will allow the use of information about citizens, residents and visitors to ensure the country's security.
