Riyadh Hosts Global AI Summit 2024 With Crown Prince's Patronage, Eyeing Vision 2030 Goals

The third Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organised by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), commenced today in Riyadh. The event, held from September 10 to 12, 2024, at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, is under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

In his opening address, SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi expressed gratitude to HRH the Crown Prince for his support. He emphasised the summit's role in advancing Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and highlighted the Kingdom's leadership in AI innovation. Al-Ghamdi noted SDAIA's commitment to driving economic growth through data and AI.

Al-Ghamdi discussed the summit's goal to push AI boundaries for humanity's benefit while addressing ethical challenges posed by generative AI, such as forgery. He stressed the importance of tackling issues related to AI-generated information and highlighted global competition for AI talent, particularly from the global North.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha presented an investment theory in AI during the first session titled "Empowering Society through AI Driven Technology". He mentioned that Saudi Arabia aims to achieve productivity and prosperity through local, regional, and global innovations.

Al-Ghamdi outlined SDAIA's achievements since its establishment in 2019, including hosting the first Global AI Summit. Discussions at this summit led to forming a UN-affiliated advisory body for AI. He also praised UNESCO's efforts in promoting AI ethics and establishing the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh.

He highlighted key initiatives like the ALLaM model, an Arabic language model developed in Saudi Arabia, and "SauTech", a highly accurate Arabic speech-to-text tool covering 15 dialects. This technology is used by the Ministry of Justice to transcribe court sessions, placing it at the forefront of AI-driven judicial systems.

Global Collaboration and Talent Development

Al-Ghamdi emphasised SDAIA's role in fostering global collaboration in AI governance by hosting a major consultation for the UN with over 50 countries participating. He also mentioned SDAIA’s ongoing work with government agencies to leverage AI in healthcare, highlighting "EYENAI", which has contributed to early diagnosis of 846 potential patients last year.

He affirmed SDAIA's commitment to addressing challenges facing local and global AI talents. To achieve this goal, SDAIA organised the largest national programming and AI Olympiad with over 570,000 Saudi students participating. The Kingdom is also hosting the first International AI Olympiad with 25 countries competing in Riyadh.

Gender Equality and Human-Centered AI

Al-Ghamdi stressed that SDAIA continues building national capabilities aiming for gender equality in the AI workforce. He highlighted efforts to promote gender equality worldwide through initiatives like Elevate, launched during the second Global AI Summit, which honed skills of women from 28 countries.

"AI is not a tool that replaces human capabilities but a powerful enabler," said Al-Ghamdi. "This journey is about forging a partnership between humans and machines to solve pressing challenges so that AI can work for humanity." He called for human-centered AI where technology promotes creativity and compassion instead of replacing them.

Challenges in Advancing AI

Al-Swaha touched on three main challenges: devices' energy efficiency, storage and memory development, and models' accuracy. He noted that while cloud computing faced many physical and technical challenges initially, it grew from a $10 billion industry to a market worth over half a trillion dollars.

The opening ceremony featured visual presentations on AI's scope, its relationship with humans, and related technological developments. Several prominent figures attended including members of the Royal Family, ministers, foreign officials, thought leaders, executives from leading tech companies globally, alongside ambassadors accredited to Saudi Arabia.

The summit includes 150 sessions and workshops with participation from 450 speakers across 100 countries. These sessions aim to explore various aspects of artificial intelligence while promoting international cooperation in this rapidly evolving field.

With inputs from SPA