Issue 01 . June 2026Loose change. Sharp eyes.

automation.

7 pieces filed under automation

TechnologyJun 8
AI Customer Service Needs a Human Shift Lead. Souk Weekly technology.

AI Customer Service Needs a Human Shift Lead

Automation can answer more tickets, but the service floor still needs a person watching mood, exceptions, and the promises the bot is making.

By Priya Chen

WorldJun 4
The Second Passport Has Become a Piece of Furniture, Not a Decision. Souk Weekly world.

The Second Passport Has Become a Piece of Furniture, Not a Decision

Why the regional professional class has stopped treating the second citizenship as an ambitious life choice and started treating it as a moderately interesting drawer in the desk.

By Priya Chen

TechnologyJun 4
The Prompt Has Quietly Replaced the Product Spec. Souk Weekly technology.

The Prompt Has Quietly Replaced the Product Spec

Why a generation of regional product managers is now writing twelve hundred word prompts instead of forty page product requirement documents, and why the new format is, on balance, better.

By Priya Chen

TechnologyJun 3
Your AI Girlfriend Lives in Abu Dhabi Now. Souk Weekly technology. Photograph keyed to datacenter.

Your AI Girlfriend Lives in Abu Dhabi Now

Why a notable share of the world's intimate-companion AI services are now being hosted on Gulf cloud infrastructure, and what the local sovereign players think about it.

By Priya Chen

TechnologyJun 3
An Arabic-First Language Model Just Quietly Stopped Being Worse. Souk Weekly technology. Photograph keyed to ai.

An Arabic-First Language Model Just Quietly Stopped Being Worse

Inside the recent improvements in the local language-model ecosystem, and why the gap to the global frontier closed faster than nearly anyone predicted.

By Priya Chen

TechnologyJun 3
PrimeERP Is Built for the Tuesday Afternoon, Not the Procurement Demo. Souk Weekly technology feature.

PrimeERP Is Built for the Tuesday Afternoon, Not the Procurement Demo

Inside the small but growing category of enterprise software that has decided to be honest about what running an organisation actually looks like, instead of about what it looks like in a slideware deck.

By Priya Chen

TechnologyMar 21
A DIY Smart Home on a Renter's Budget. Souk Weekly technology.

A DIY Smart Home on a Renter's Budget

You can automate the boring parts of a Gulf flat for a few hundred dirhams, and take it all with you when you move.

By Priya Chen