Saudi Arabia Begins Establishment of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre

In a recent government-based event in the Saudi Arabian capital, a royal decree was issued by King Salman green-lighting the establishment of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre in Saudi Arabia under the name of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence. The construction of an AI centre aligns with Saudi Arabia’s mission to streamline its economy by developing state-of-the-art technology and keeping up with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives.

Since the announcement, the decree has been receiving praise and recognition as a key milestone towards innovation, where the centre’s introduction to new modern-day technologies bridges the path to digital innovation in the Kingdom which will shape the future of their country. Moreover, the king also ordered the establishment of the National Data Management Office which will work hand-in-hand with Saudi Data and AI Authority to better maintain and manage the data of its citizens.

“We welcome the decree as a clear indication of the shift in the technological ecosystem in the country where the public and private sector, both are ready to adopt top-of-the-line technologies,” states Abdullah AlSawah, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, adding that the adopting of AI and Big Data would ensure efficiency of services and accelerate the growth in the decision-making processes in a variety of sectors throughout the government.

One of the most recent initiatives towards innovation was the Badir Programme for tech incubators and accelerators announcing the launch of the first agriculture technology hackathon in Saudi Arabia, which focuses on bringing AI-based technologies to increase quality of agricultural products. Additionally, the Kingdom’s government aims to introduce smart devices to enhance the experience of Hajj Pilgrims, which also is a clear reinforcement of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. And in case you haven’t forgotten that the innovative Hanson Robotics’ Sophia the Robot, is a citizen of the Kingdom.