The Abu Dhabi royal sometimes called »the spy sheikh« is accustomed to using his vast wealth to master his many obsessions, which have ranged over the years from martial arts to chess to videogames.

Now Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and brother of the president, is deploying a similar playbook at a much grander scale. He wants to muscle his tiny emirate to the front of the race to develop and control AI systems that could transform the global economy.