Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured above) intends to make Saudi Arabia a global leader in AI research.

Saudi Arabia hosted a two-day Global AI Summit commencing Wednesday at Riyadh. In a speech on its opening day Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that 2020 presented the “perfect opportunity” to test the potential of artificial intelligence in the face of the unprecedented challenges from the Covid 19 pandemic. (ARAB NEWS)

The Crown Prince said 2020 had been an extraordinary year. It witnessed the formation of a new global normal redefining the conventional ways of life, working, and learning.

Saudi Arabia’s role in global AI

The Crown Prince said his country was keen to play a prominent role in the global development of AI. He hoped to unlock its potential for the betterment of all humanity. He also exhorted countries across the world to combine their capabilities in AI to better extract and disseminate its benefits.

“This requires all of us to think and work hard to take advantage of artificial intelligence and unleash its full potential to advance our societies and economies.”

“I hereby invite all dreamers, innovators, investors, and thinkers to join us, here in the Kingdom, to achieve our ambitions together and to build a pioneering model; to unlock the value of data and AI in order to build knowledge-based economies and advance our present and future generations,” he added.

Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, president of the Saudi Data and AI Authority, also spoke at the summit. “AI’s potential has led to fierce competition between nations to claim global leadership … there has been an overly negative debate on the risks and dangers.”

However, the Prince suggested:  “I invite you all to work in a spirit of cooperation to shape the future of artificial intelligence in a way that serves all societies, prioritizes collaboration over competition, and focuses on reliable and responsible uses and applications of AI to serve humanity.”

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $ 20 billion AI strategy

At the summit, Saudi Arabia flagged off a $ 20 billion program aimed to make the country a global leader in artificial intelligence and data science by 2030.

The country’s National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) intends to attract $ 20 million in international and domestic investment. It’s a move that will also help the country to diversify from its oil-based economy,

As a part of that strategy, Saudi Arabia will train 20,000 specialists and experts and establish 300 active start-ups.

“Saudi Arabia wants to set the best example globally in using AI for the development of a nation,” Al-Ghamdi said.

“The strategy aims to make Saudi Arabia the place where the best of data and artificial intelligence is made reality … it sets the foundation and direction upon which we will unlock the potential of data and AI to fulfill our national transformation priorities and establish Saudi Arabia as a global hub for data and AI.”

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Image of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Flickr