ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates â At the opening of the world’s largest energy conference in Abu Dhabi, artificial intelligence took center stage alongside oil and gas as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined senior UAE officials for the announcement of a major partnership aimed at bringing advanced AI into the energy industry.
The opening ceremony of ADIPEC 2026, attended by Fox News Digital, brought together senior government officials and energy industry leaders at a time when the war involving Iran and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz have placed extraordinary pressure on global energy supplies.
But amid discussions about oil production, shipping routes and energy security, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAEs minister of industry and advanced technology and chief executive of state-owned energy giant ADNOC, delivered a different challenge to the technology industry.
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“From the moment ChatGPT was born, the world has asked what energy can do for AI. And now, together, we will find out what AI can do for energy,” Al Jaber told the audience, introducing a partnership between ADNOC, OpenAI and Abu Dhabi-based technology company G42.
The announcement marked a significant step in the UAEs ambition to become a global center for artificial intelligence, using its energy resources, financial strength and growing partnerships with American technology companies to help shape the industrys future.
Yet the question of what AI can actually deliver for the energy industry goes beyond the technology announcements.
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Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the conference, Dr. Angela Wilkinson, secretary general and CEO of the World Energy Council, said the most encouraging element of the presentations by Altman and Al Jaber was their focus on the role of people.
“That it isnt about AI taking decisions for humanity, its about AI enabling people to make better decisions,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson argued that the growing relationship between energy and AI should be understood not simply as a way to automate industrial processes, but as an opportunity to expand human capabilities.
“I think what really cheered me up most is the recognition that its a people-centric conversation on both sides of the equation,” she said.
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Amos Hochstein, a managing partner at TWG Global and a former senior adviser to President Joe Biden, welcomed the potential benefits of the new OpenAI-UAE partnership but warned that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence must be balanced against its financial and societal costs.
Speaking to Fox News Digital at ADIPEC, Hochstein said, “The energy sector is going to be one of the big beneficiaries of AI coming into the sector.” But he cautioned that the U.S. must remain a leader in advanced AI while ensuring Americans are not left paying the price for its expansion, calling on the Trump administration to work more closely with industry and other sectors of society to maximize the benefits and minim
