All UAE residents to get free ChatGPT Plus subscriptions

Deep in the already exciting news about the UAE /OpenAI Stargate AI programme in Gulfnews was a paragraph that I found even more interesting:

As part of this collaboration, the UAE will also become the first country to offer OpenAI's ChatGPT services nationwide, with the tool being integrated across government agencies and key sectors such as energy, healthcare, and education.

Furthermore, all UAE residents will receive ChatGPT-Plus subscriptions, ensuring that OpenAI's tools are accessible to everyone in the country.

Absolutely fascinating.

I think it's fair to suggest that this might have been expected given the billions that are being invested in the programme. However, I think it's a very forward-thinking move by the leadership of the country to facilitate this.

I think it's a great move. It speaks volumes about the ambition of the country.

There's around 11M people in the United Arab Emirates. Many will already be part of the 500M+ weekly ChatGPT users, but I wonder how many are premium subscribers at the moment?

What will be the implications for this? I can think of many positives, not least ensuring that everyone has access to the premium version of the tool, regardless of their financial capability. I can also think of some challenges too!

I also wonder about the take-up rate. If your country offered you free ChatGPT Plus, would you use it? Would you take up the offer? I certainly would.