DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) and United

Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company G42 will

open two centres in Abu Dhabi to work on "responsible" AI

initiatives, the companies said on Tuesday.

The UAE, led by government-backed firm G42, is striving to

become a global leader in AI and is investing heavily in it to

diversify away from oil.

The push comes amid rising competition in the region as

Qatar and Saudi Arabia pitch themselves as potential AI hubs

outside the United States, as well as Washington's concerns over

deepening ties between China and Gulf states over potential

technology transfers to Beijing.

The companies said the deal built on their April

partnership, under which Microsoft ( MSFT ) is investing $1.5 billion in

the Emirati firm.

The first centre will bring together academic researchers

and AI practitioners from the private sector to develop and

share best practices in responsible AI.

The other centre will focus on tasks including developing

large language models - computer programs that draw from vast

amounts of text to generate responses to queries - for

"underrepresented languages".

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and U.S. private

equity firm Silver Lake hold stakes in G42, whose chairman,

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the UAE's national

security advisor and the president's brother.

G42 said earlier this year it had divested its investments

in China and at the time of the Microsoft ( MSFT ) partnership, both

firms noted that the deal was backed by assurances to the U.S.

and UAE governments over security.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and G42 said on Tuesday the centres will work to

ensure "generative AI models and applications are developed,

deployed and used safely."

G42 and its affiliates do not conduct business with any

entity listed on a U.S. government list of parties for which

Washington maintains restrictions on certain exports,

re-exports, or transfers of items, the firms said.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Abinaya

Vijayaraghavan)