Artificial intelligence plays an important role in the development of countries, and the importance of neural networks continues to grow. The US and China are considered leaders in the field of AI; however, other countries are also actively investing in this area. In the spring of 2024, could be noticed a lot of news about the Saudi Arabian government’s plans to establish a fund for investment in the AI industry, which could make the Kingdom the largest investor in this field.
The Kingdom's steady progress in this direction can be traced through the SDAIA (Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority) report "Artificial Intelligence: The DNA of Transformation", presented in 2022. It contains a list of the challenges facing the achievement of the set goals.
According to the recently published Stanford University Global Artificial Intelligence Index, Arabia has become one of the first countries in the world to develop a national AI strategy, reported the country’s press agency. According to the SDAIA 2022 report, a third of CIOs in the Kingdom reported that their organizations lacked a centralized strategy for implementing AI, while a quarter of respondents reported difficulties in choosing the right algorithms. This implies certain barriers to aligning business processes with AI solutions. But experience shows that the barriers can be overcome.
The disruptive nature of the technology also poses a barrier to the diverse use of AI in Saudi Arabia, which has traditional views on innovation. Reluctance to adopt AI due to the perceived loss of control may result in organizations not seeing or underestimating its benefits. To demonstrate the combination of advanced technology and cultural relevance, a female android named Sarah, trained in the country’s rules of conduct, is being developed. The robot was unveiled in 2024 by QSS AI & Robots, a Riyadh-based company that developed the android using its own technology. It should be noted that the company previously unveiled another humanoid robot named Muhammad.
In 2024, Informatica, a US company and a leader in enterprise cloud data management, launched the first AI-powered platform in Saudi Arabia. As noted by the company's vice president Yasser Shawki, the implementation of an intelligent cloud data management platform will lead to fundamental changes for the government and organizations in the Kingdom. Judging by the description of Informatica's activities, this partnership will not only strengthen the AI integration strategy, but will also help address the issue of data quality, relevance, and privacy, also identified in the SDAIA 2022 report.
Among other things, the report pointed out potential legal and ethical controversies that could arise when humans and machines interact. Resolving these issues requires a unique regulatory framework that maintains a balance between over-regulation, which hinders innovation, and under-regulation, which leaves gaps for unethical use. In September 2023, SDAIA published the “AI Ethics Principles”. The document is based on the priority of social and environmental focus, as well as the principles of humanity, fairness, reliability, accountability, accessibility, transparency, and security.
Of course, the financial side is an important issue. Like any technological solution, AI requires significant investments in hardware and software, as well as in qualified personnel, which, in turn, necessitates a revision of the budget and scale of the project. One way to solve this problem is Saudi Arabia's cooperation with a venture fund from Silicon Valley. The plan is to create a fund of about $40 billion for investment in AI technologies. In early 2024, the Kingdom invested $100 billion in semiconductor manufacturing. To implement this task, Alat was founded , the goal of which is to create a world-class industrial electronics center in Saudi Arabia.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is attracting qualified personnel from the US, China and other countries, becoming one of the world's scientific centers for AI research. The university is currently working on the supercomputer "Shaheen 3". Speaking of startups, it is important to mention “The Garage” – The Middle East’s largest startup space (28,000 sq. m.), located in KAUST, is currently home to over 300 companies. In addition, the Saudi government has launched the GAIA accelerator for AI startups. The $1 billion project aims to attract young entrepreneurs: each startup will receive $40,000 and an investment of $100,000, provided that it operates in Riyadh and is registered in the Kingdom.
Thus, by prioritizing the formation of the AI sphere and systematically overcoming barriers in this area, Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its oil economy, also developing tourism and sports. According to the Vision 2030 program approved by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom should become a world leader in the field of AI by 2030. It is important to note that in the desert along the Red Sea, it is planned to build cities with infrastructure completely controlled by AI. The first "smart city" Neom is already being built in northwest Saudi Arabia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Igor Omilaev/Unsplash