Saudi Arabia announced its National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence

22nd October 2020

1 minute read

At the Global AI Summit, hosted virtually by the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom declared on Wednesday its National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence.

This new strategy was declared by Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, who spoke instead the Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, through Twitter on the Global AI Summit channel.

Al-Ghamdi reported that the year 2020 is a special year for Saudi Arabia as we have the honor to lead the G20 forum. Our summit today is an imperative of the G20 Digital Economy agenda with its special on artificial intelligence. I stood in this very place a year ago to announce the Global AI Summit and it didn’t occur to me that we would be living a very different reality.

He also said: One thing we can all agree upon is that technology in general, and certainly artificial intelligence, has been at the center of this new normal. AI today is making our healthcare more intelligent, our cities smart and our road safe.

Saudi Arabia’s Artificial Intelligence goals

In the same context, Al-Ghamdi declared that the Kingdom plans to be one of the top 15 AI global pioneers by 2030.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s National Information Center Director Dr. Esam Alwagait announced that the new strategy will concentrate on closing the skills gap, motivating the market via research and innovation, and using applications of AI for government and private sector institutions.

Alwagait praised the role of AI in controlling the coronavirus pandemic, and describe this as the right solution. He also indicated to top-down decision making and the use of technology as two key factors to success in the fight against this pandemic.

UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, was attended the Global AI Summit.

Otherwise, Al Olama praised the transformative potential of AI, showing that it’s important to more adopt this in the coronavirus pandemic.

Al Olama, whose minsiterial portfolio is the first of its kind globally also said: This technology is so profound it has the ability to change our societies, our economies, and life as we know it.