Hardly a week goes by without news of a new gadget being adopted by Dubai, the economic and cultural capital of the United Arab Emirates, yet hardly a week goes by without news of someone being arrested there for the most ridiculous reason.
No one is fond of conspiracy theories, but it is hard to accept this trend of 'cool-washing' the UAE is innocent.
True, UAE and its iconic brand Dubai has made impressive efforts to embrace (and overhype in the process) the most cutting edge tech, from Elon Musk's putative Hyperloop to personalised 'drone ubers' and robocops to guard its streets.
True, UAE and its iconic brand Dubai has made impressive efforts to embrace (and overhype in the process) the most cutting edge tech, from Elon Musk's putative Hyperloop to personalised 'drone ubers' and robocops to guard its streets.
The UAE is even funding a mission to explore and possibly colonise Mars (and perhaps annex the Red Planet as its eighth emirate).
But in equal measure, the Emiratis and their friends have gone full 1984 with their mass suveillance tech and correspondent cybercrime (and thought-crime) laws.
