عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

King Salman’s Reign Consolidates AI’s Future in Saudi Arabia

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated in 2018 the first phase of the projects of Waad Al-Shamal industrial City. SPA
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated in 2018 the first phase of the projects of Waad Al-Shamal industrial City. SPA
TT
TT

King Salman’s Reign Consolidates AI’s Future in Saudi Arabia

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated in 2018 the first phase of the projects of Waad Al-Shamal industrial City. SPA
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated in 2018 the first phase of the projects of Waad Al-Shamal industrial City. SPA

The past decade under the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz witnessed achievements in all aspects.

To accomplish political, economic, social, and technological achievements, King Salman’s rule witnessed the establishment of several entities focused on modern and advanced technologies. These include the founding of specialized technology companies and government entities to enhance Saudi Arabia's position in advanced technologies.

For example, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) was established in 2019. SDAIA contributed to the development of several advanced projects and platforms, as well as the development of Saudi personnel in the fields of data and artificial intelligence.

Additionally, during King Salman’s reign, the National Cybersecurity Authority was established in 2017, which strengthened the Kingdom's ranking in the global cybersecurity index, where it ranked 13th worldwide and 1st in the Arab world in 2019.

This is in addition to other specialized government entities concerned with research and development, such as the General Authority for Defense Development, the General Authority for Military Industries, and the Research, Development, and Innovation Authority.

Several companies were also founded during King Salman’s rule, specializing in future economic technologies. The Saudi electronics company Alat, fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, was established in Feb. 2014. This company specializes in the manufacturing and development of advanced electronics, such as semiconductors, smart devices, advanced industries, and the infrastructure for artificial intelligence.

The Kingdom has also organized several global conferences focused on modern technologies. In March 2024, the third edition of the LEAP conference was launched. It is the largest conference and exhibition dedicated to the future of technologies and their role in the prosperity of humanity. This followed the first edition held in 2022, and the second the year after.

Riyadh also hosted the third edition of the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit last September, announcing several international partnerships and memorandums of understanding aimed at enhancing the future vision of this technology in the upcoming phase.

The summit discussed topics related to artificial intelligence, its applications, and its impact on society and the economy. It aimed to maximize the benefits of AI technologies and find solutions to current challenges across various sectors, such as smart cities, human capacity development, healthcare, transportation, energy, culture and heritage, the environment, and economic mobility.

Another example is when the Saudi Ministry of Energy announced that it would establish a General Directorate for Artificial Intelligence and Business Development to increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption.

Meanwhile, Aramco Digital revealed its collaboration with Groq - AI inference provider and creator of the Language Processing Unit (LPU) - to establish the world’s largest inferencing data center in the Kingdom.

The summit organized by SDAIA featured exceptional and interactive experiences, attracting more than 32,000 visitors from inside and outside the Kingdom. It also included the participation of AI experts, specialists, and leaders from around the world, who gathered to discuss the future of this technology and propose inspiring solutions for the advancement of humanity.

Most Viewed

 
 
Features

Bereaved Gazans Dig Out Bodies from City Ruins, Give Them Graves 

A Palestinian walks amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian walks amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Bereaved Gazans Dig Out Bodies from City Ruins, Give Them Graves 

A Palestinian walks amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian walks amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)

Guns may have fallen silent in Gaza, but for Mahmoud Abu Dalfa, the agony is not over. He is desperately searching for the bodies of his wife and five children trapped under the rubble of his house since the early months of the war.

Abu Dalfa's wife and children were among 35 of his extended family who were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the building in Gaza City's Shejaia suburb in December 2023, he said. As bombs continued to fall, only three bodies were retrieved.

"My children are still under the rubble. I am trying to get them out... The civil defense came, they tried, but the destruction makes it difficult. We don't have the equipment here to extract martyrs. We need excavators and a lot of technical tools," Abu Dalfa told Reuters.

"My wife was killed along with all my five children - three daughters and two sons. I had triplets," he said.

Burials are usually carried out within a few hours of death in Muslim and Arab communities, and failure to retrieve bodies and ensure dignified burials is agonizing for bereaved families.

"I hope I can bring them out and make them a grave. That's all I want from this entire world. I don’t want them to build me a house or give me anything else. All I want is a grave for them - to get them out and make them a grave," said Abu Dalfa.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service and medical staff have recovered around 200 bodies since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect on Sunday, halting a 15-month conflict that has killed more than 47,000 Gazans.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Palestinian Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. At least 94 of those hostages remain in Gaza.

Mahmoud Basal, the head of the service, said extraction operations have been challenged by the lack of earth-moving and heavy machinery, adding that Israel had destroyed several of their vehicles and killed at least 100 of their staff.

Basal estimates the bodies of around 10,000 Palestinians killed in the war are yet to be found and buried.

A UN damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.

OPENING AID CROSSINGS

As hundreds of truckloads of aid flowed into Gaza since Sunday, officials from the Palestinian Authority, rivals to Hamas, held meetings with European officials to arrange to assume responsibilities at two vital crossing points with Egypt and Israel.

A Palestinian official familiar with the matter said Egypt sent bulldozers and some engineering vehicles to carry out repairs to the road on the Gaza side of the border that had been damaged by Israel's ground offensive.

Like Abu Dalfa, thousands of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are searching for the bodies of relatives either missing under the rubble or buried in mass graves during Israeli ground raids.

Rabah Abulias, a 68-year-old father who lost his son Ashraf in an Israeli attack, wants to give his son a proper grave.

"I know where Ashraf is buried, but his body is with dozens of others, there is no grave for him, there is no tomb stone that carries his name," he said via a chat app from Gaza City.

"I want to make him a grave, where I can visit him, talk to him and tell him I am sorry I wasn't there for him."