SDAIA President: GAIN Summit Reinforces Kingdom's AI Leadership and Global Impact

Riyadh- President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi said that the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit) in its third edition keeps pace with the aspirations of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the SDAIA Board of Directors, to position Saudi Arabia as a leader in artificial intelligence innovation in order to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom Vision 2030.

During a press conference held on Sunday to highlight the local, regional and international dimensions of the GAIN Summit, Dr. Al-Ghamdi emphasized the Global AI Summit's (GAIN Summit) role in showcasing the Kingdom's remarkable advancements in artificial intelligence. The summit serves as a testament to the flourishing progress, knowledge, and technological development achieved under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and HRH the Crown Prince. He further said that these summits also reflect the kingdom's proactive involvement in utilizing artificial intelligence technology for the benefit of humanity and endorsing its efforts in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals at both local and global levels.

Dr. Al-Ghamdi highlighted that since its establishment in 2019, SDAIA has been dedicated to keeping up with leading countries in the fields of data and artificial intelligence. Its aim is to bolster Saudi Arabia's position among economies based on these advanced technologies. SDAIA has been devoted to achieving this national goal, including hosting the first Global Artificial Intelligence Summit in 2020, known as the SDAIA Strategic Summit. During this summit, the National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence was unveiled, showcasing SDAIA's role in leading the national direction for data and artificial intelligence to realize its vision and position the Kingdom as a leader in the knowledge-based economy founded on data. Consequently, the Kingdom was ranked first globally in the Global Artificial Intelligence Index for AI Government Strategies.

He also mentioned the launch of the International Artathon competition at the first Global Summit. The competition aimed to explore the potential of art in the field of artificial intelligence, tapping into human capabilities and extracting narratives and stories. This involved testing whether artificial intelligence could create poetry, novels, and other human-related content, with participation from numerous countries worldwide.

Additionally, he stated that SDAIA organized the second edition of the summit in 2022, serving as the launch summit for the advancements of generative AI, leading to significant qualitative and quantitative developments in the 2024 Global Artificial Intelligence Summit. This upcoming summit will focus on the current and future state of AI through three main aspects: exploring the contemporary reality of AI, envisioning its future development, and ensuring commitment to its ethical use.

Al-Ghamdi said that the forthcoming Global AI Summit aims to tackle the complex questions surrounding AI development, ensuring its transition into a tangible reality that benefits all of humanity. He expressed SDAIA's pride in being among the pioneering entities that have seamlessly integrated data management and AI technologies to invest in establishing an appealing economic system and cutting-edge technological infrastructure.

He highlighted that the summit will feature over 456 speakers, representing a distinguished group of experts, scientists, and specialists from more than 100 countries, enriching discussions across 150 sessions. Additionally, the summit has drawn over 32,000 registrants.

The event will mark the debut of more than 25 local and international initiatives, the signing of over 70 agreements and local and international memoranda of understanding, Al-Ghamdi said. It will also kick off preparatory activities such as the Allam Challenge and the International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (IAIO) involving 25 countries. The summit will host the GAINx event in partnership with four Saudi universities: King Saud University, Prince Sultan University, Alfaisal University, and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Al-Ghamdi said. Furthermore, an international consultation session on artificial intelligence governance will take place in collaboration with the United Nations and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). Al-Ghamdi said that the general scope of the summit revolves around cutting-edge techniques and algorithms of generative artificial intelligence, along with the applications of big data and strategies to utilize them in diverse sectors. Additionally, the summit will address the enhancement of technical human capabilities, the requirements for technological and AI infrastructure, and the ethical and governance aspects of AI.

Moreover, the summit will delve into specific areas such as effective AI ethics, human-centric approaches, large language models (LLMs), comprehensive aspects of AI, data utilization, application development, infrastructure enhancement, and processor technologies, he added. Dr. Al-Ghamdi emphasized the importance of having regulations and ethics for the use of artificial intelligence. He noted that Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to adopt the AI ethics recommendations endorsed by UNESCO in November 2021 with the participation of 193 countries. Saudi Arabia issued AI ethics principles during the second Global AI Summit in 2022, aimed at raising awareness and promoting responsible use of AI products while directing their optimal use, he said. He indicated that the Kingdom has made tremendous efforts in this area, including establishing the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh, which was granted the status of a UNESCO Category II International Center in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Director of the National Information Center, Dr. Esam Al-Wagait, stated that the rapid growth and significant development of AI technologies and applications today have led to a radical transformation in many fields and have boosted economic growth. He pointed out that forecasts indicate AI's contribution to the global economy could reach approximately $15 trillion, with its market expected to grow to nearly $1 trillion by the end of this decade. This growth is attributed to the continued investment by countries in research and development, driven by the belief in AI's substantial value in advancing economic progress and addressing challenges, Dr. Al-Wagait noted. He reviewed some economic reports from global consulting firms, including a 2024 report by McKinsey, which indicated that organizations using AI for data analysis and decision-making reduced their operational expenses by 20 to 25%.

Moreover, a report by Deloitte noted that AI-powered robotic process automation (RPA) technologies can improve process efficiency by 20-30% compared to other technologies, due to their ability to automate tasks with high speed, accuracy, and lower cost, he said. He explained that AI offers immeasurable opportunities to assist humans and shape a better future across various fields, including cities and urban life, citing a recent Bloomberg survey which revealed that around 69% of cities are seeking to leverage generative AI to enhance quality of life.

"Our cities today are increasingly relying on AI to improve all aspects of life, including optimal energy use, environmental improvements, and traffic management," he said adding that SDAIA launched earlier this year a Center of Excellence for congestion solutions using data and AI to enhance traffic safety and address congestion in the Kingdom. He also touched upon importance of AI in healthcare and highlighted the significant global growth in the innovation and use of AI-based medical equipment for diagnostics, surgical procedures, and clinical trials, referring in this regard to data from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which showed that 950 AI-based medical devices have been approved as of August this year. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, he said that SDAIA has launched the AI Center of Excellence in Health to develop AI solutions that contribute to diagnosing and early detection of chronic diseases, such as cancer and retinal disorders.

Regarding the relationship between AI and humans, he explained that the gap between the supply and demand for qualified AI professionals has intensified competition among organizations and countries to attract talented people and professionals. "Organizations are increasingly focusing on developing their employees' AI skills to boost productivity and enhance their innovation capabilities," he said, underlying the relationship between humans and AI is not competitive but complementary for the benefit of humanity as a whole and indicating that, despite the similarities between human and artificial intelligence in learning, communication, and problem-solving, human intelligence will remain distinct in self-awareness.

The CEO of the National Center for AI "NCAI" at SDAIA, Yaser Al-Onaizan, confirmed that the third edition of the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit is distinguished from other global summits thanks to the diversity of specializations of speakers and participants in academic and research fields, by meeting with economic decision-makers in major global companies concerned with this field and entities producing or investing in AI tools and government agencies, making it a rare qualitative initiative in specialized technical summits. He also added that this summit highlights the significance of these advanced technologies from the societal side in light of the developments the world is witnessing in the field of data and AI technologies that overlap with all aspects of human life and have become an integral part of the components of life.

This point of view was tackled in the summit during the meetings of experts, specialists and international officials concerned with these technologies from different countries of the world to realize a common formulation that ensures harmony in the relationship between humans and AI technologies. Al-Onaizan pointed out that the Kingdom enjoys a strategic global location that has made it a destination for discussing issues that affect the region in various fields, including the field of AI. This summit will also be a comprehensive gathering for to discover new methods for a better future along with these technologies in light of the Kingdom's pioneering efforts in supporting the United Nations' sustainable development goals and enhancing AI capabilities.