Expert shares Saudi Arabia’s AI journey with TechIsland Summit

In a keynote speech entitled ‘Policy, Practice, and Pitfalls: Lessons from Deploying & Scaling AI in Saudi Arabia,’ Dr. Fares K Alaboud, COO at LogiX shared the country’s Artificial Intelligence journey and how Cyprus could learn from it.

Alaboud began by talking about LogiX’s operations in Saudi Arabia and the EU before highlighting the different kinds of Artificial Intelligence and their impact.

He elaborated on Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 approach which, among other things, is dedicated to creating the infrastructure required for the country’s private and public sector to scale AI.

“Saudi Arabia also has a young population and is rich in untapped data, providing the tools to create world-class AI,” Alaboud noted, adding that the country was also working to encourage global tech and AI giants to have a presence there.

An indication of international interest, he continued, was demonstrated recently when US President Donal Trump was accompanied on a visit to Saudi Arabia by Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, among others.

Alaboud also pointed out that Saudi Arabia has launched a new firm, HUMAIN, to invest across the artificial intelligence value chain just days before Trump’s visit.

Earlier steps taken by the country, meanwhile, including the creation of the Saudi National Committee for AI, which, among other things, helps private and public sector work together.

“Sovereignty is also important, storing data abroad can be risky. By leveraging local infrastructure for AI development, this can be avoided,” Alaboud also suggested.

He went on to note that countries and even areas within a country need to consider tailored AI models since ones, for example, imported from the Western world, “would not necessarily work well in Riyad for example.”

He also talked about the ethics of using AI and shared that, within this direction SDAIA (Saudi Arabia Data & AI Authority) had introduced five levels companies could be certified with, depending on the security they offered their clients.

While underlining the importance of trust, Alaboud also stressed that, like electricity and telecommunications, AI will become an integral part of our lives.

Alaboud's presentation can be viewed here.