Abu Dhabi, UAE, 27 January 2026 — Abu Dhabi’s flagship AI Adopters event, Machines Can Think 2026, featured a keynote by Yann LeCun, Professor at New York University on Objective-Driven AI: World Models, Reasoning, and Efficiency which examined how AI systems can move beyond pattern recognition toward goal-oriented reasoning, improved efficiency, and more reliable decision-making in real-world environments. Machines Can Think 2026 is co-organised and co-hosted by Polynome and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The flagship executive AI summit brings together global innovators, leading UAE institutions, government decision-makers, and world-class researchers shaping the future of intelligent technologies, with a strong focus on governance, infrastructure, and measurable impact. In his opening remarks, Alexander Khanin, Founder and Director of Polynome Group, positioned Machines Can Think as a strong platform for public and private sector leaders to address AI adoption at scale. He noted that the calibre of speakers and the depth of discussion were designed to move beyond vision-setting, enabling informed debate and actionable outcomes.