Global summit on artificial intelligence begins in Riyadh

The second edition of the Global AI Summit, held under the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence for the Good of Humanity’ started in Riyadh on September 13.

With the participation of more than 10,000 people and 200 speakers from 90 countries, representing policymakers, specialists with AI, the three-day summit is being held at the headquarters of the King Abdul Aziz International conference centre in Riyadh.

Under the patronage of Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Chairman of Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), the Global AI Summit will include several initiatives, agreements and memorandums of understanding for Saudi and international companies, envisioned to develop the use and influence of AI.

The #GlobalAISummit witnessed a live show that tells the story of how humans can have a better future thanks to AI.#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/84LwI7jWoU

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) September 13, 2022

The three themes of the summit are AI Now, AI Next and AI Never. Participants will also focus on the impact of AI on some important issues, such as economic mobility, healthcare, developing human resources and smart cities.

The opening ceremony and the main session were attended by several heads of government authorities, CEOs of major technological companies, AI specialists from local and international research centers, and interested people in ICT.

Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, minister of Communications and Information Technology referred to the country’s adoption of AI solutions which have served the health, energy and digital economy sectors. He also stressed the importance of Neom and the Line project saying, “It is a gift from the Crown Prince to humanity on how to plan smart cities over the coming years and how the kingdom managed to adapt with AI solutions and data to build sustainable communities.”

The potential of AI technologies for the good of humanity. #SDAIA3N#GlobalAISummit 2022. pic.twitter.com/DNBTRUQJA1

— Global AI Summit (@globalaisummit) September 13, 2022

SDAIA President Dr Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi pointed out that AI technology has developed in a remarkable way and has become an integral part of every aspect of our lives saying: “We are about to reach the inherent capabilities of AI, where early signs are very promising, where vertical farms can produce food with a production capacity of more than 400 folds of what conventional farms can produce, where AI has proven its ability to reduce carbon emission by 40 per cent and that it can predict cancer in a better way than humans.”

Global AI Summit Includes Session on Public Sector, Global Governance.https://t.co/PAkfHwod5v#GlobalAISummit #SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/2Xa3rIr5oE

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) September 13, 2022

Saudi Aramco CEO and President Amin Al-Nasser said that the company is proud of being one of the main sponsors of the summit, during which it announced a new strategic project dubbed “Global AI Corridor”. He said that this ambitious project includes four main roles: Establishing an excellence centre to develop AI solutions for Saudi Aramco and interested institutions in the kingdom; enhancing efforts to develop the high-influence intellectual property system connected to AI; and marketing intellectual property products commercially.

The summit commenced with a live presentation dubbed ‘Humans can have a better future with the use of AI’, which included several scenes that tell the story of humans with AI, including the ethics of AI, the story of machine learning, how humans teach machines, in addition to how to become independent and operate without the need of human in the future.

The aim of the Global AI summit is to make the kingdom a pioneering global model to serve current and future generations, leading to the Saudi Vision 2030.