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Saudi Arabia to Establish World's First ‘Sustainability Center’ Using AI

The head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence during the announcement of the launch of the principles of ethics for AI on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence during the announcement of the launch of the principles of ethics for AI on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Riyadh - Mohammed Halal
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Saudi Arabia to Establish World's First ‘Sustainability Center’ Using AI

The head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence during the announcement of the launch of the principles of ethics for AI on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence during the announcement of the launch of the principles of ethics for AI on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Mansour bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti revealed that Google has reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to help implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) sustainable solutions and cutting-edge technologies in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA), in partnership with the global business, has established AI programs and initiatives for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

The agreement with Google covers three programs and 11 initiatives, according to Al-Mushaiti.

Al-Mushaiti stressed the importance of finding innovative solutions to help take advantage of the potential of untapped resources across the Kingdom.

This will support the implementation of the digital transformation strategy, environmental initiatives, and the ministry’s strategy to leverage AI in all sectors, including services and initiatives to achieve sustainable development goals in Saudi Arabia.

During the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, Al-Mushaiti touched upon the importance of AI in accelerating progress in a proactive manner to apply emerging and modern technologies, which in turn will enable the achievement of strategic goals that align with the national transformation plan, “Kingdom Vision 2030.”

“Artificial Intelligence will aid in accelerating multi-progress and achieving sustainability goals aligned with Vision 2030,” Al-Mushaiti said.

AI is also expected to contribute to the transformation into a digital society, economy, and nation.

“It is necessary to implement original solutions that will enable us to depart from the old legacy and implement state-of-the-art technologies and deploy artificial intelligence when, where, and how needed,” he added.

In other news, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, President of the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) Dr. Abdullah Bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, and CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City Fahd Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Rasheed inaugurated Wednesday the “Smartathon -The Smart Cities Challenge.”

The challenge aims to develop emerging solutions to improve the urban landscape in the cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to come up with technical solutions that contribute to detecting and reducing visual distortions, and benefiting from the Saudi and international experiences to find solutions using data and artificial intelligence.

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China Carefully Assembling a Deep-sea Mining Strategy

So-called polymetallic nodules like those seen in this 2016 photograph from Japan are at the heart of the race to mine ocean floors for valuable minerals and metals. HO / JAMSTEC/AFP
So-called polymetallic nodules like those seen in this 2016 photograph from Japan are at the heart of the race to mine ocean floors for valuable minerals and metals. HO / JAMSTEC/AFP
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China Carefully Assembling a Deep-sea Mining Strategy

So-called polymetallic nodules like those seen in this 2016 photograph from Japan are at the heart of the race to mine ocean floors for valuable minerals and metals. HO / JAMSTEC/AFP
So-called polymetallic nodules like those seen in this 2016 photograph from Japan are at the heart of the race to mine ocean floors for valuable minerals and metals. HO / JAMSTEC/AFP

In a world hungry for crucial resources, China may not be poised to start deep-sea mining but it is planting seeds for such operations in a meticulously planned economic and geopolitical strategy.

The world's oceans, both international waters and those under national jurisdiction, are rich in minerals and metals, like cobalt, nickel and copper.

These are important for building electric car batteries, for instance, and other technologies as countries try to transition away from fossil fuels.

China "is an energy-thirsty country. It will look for resources everywhere," including the deep sea, said Julia Xue of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

But she said China is not particularly anxious over the issue, although recent developments -- one company is itching to be the first to start mining the sea bed -- may put more pressure on Beijing.

A Canadian firm, The Metals Company, has filed an application with the United States to begin undersea mining in international waters.

Using its American subsidiary, it acted after President Donald Trump, bypassing international negotiations, signed an executive order in April to speed up the permit-issuing process for such mining in US and international waters.

Trump cited an obscure 1980 US law that says American citizens can explore for and recover deep sea minerals in areas beyond the country's jurisdiction.

Environmental groups are outraged by Trump's order, arguing that a wild hunt for the potato-sized, metal-containing nodules could harm fragile undersea ecosystems.

The Canadian company initially said it would submit its request to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a body which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor in international waters.

The Metals Company says it ignored this authority because of its slow pace in talks on adopting a mining code that establishes rules for exploiting seabed resources. The United States is not an ISA member.

A long-time observer of those talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said China is not particularly worried about who starts mining first.

"For them it's more about dominance, staying competitive in the game, and giving the impression that you can't mess with us," the observer said.

With that goal in mind "they're definitely developing the technology and putting the strategic agreements in place," Alex Gilbert, a researcher at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines, told AFP.

For instance, China has reached an agreement with the Cook Islands to explore for minerals in that Pacific country's waters.

Another tiny Pacific nation, Kiribati, also says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China.

This approach is "more geopolitical than economic," said Emmanuel Hache of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, noting Beijing is using undersea mining as a lure to cement greater diplomatic support as it exerts power.

China holds five contracts handed out by the ISA to look for resources in the Pacific and Indian Ocean sea beds and these contracts cover all types of undersea mineral resources. China's is the largest number of the 22 contracts the organization has granted.

Years behind

"From a research perspective, we have been continuously getting closer. And from a technical perspective, we have been continuously improving," said Chen Xuguang, a researcher at Ocean University of China.

In 2024 a Chinese prototype deep-sea mining vehicle called Pioneer II, developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, set a national record by operating at a depth of more than 4,000 meters (13,100 feet).

State-owned Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation told AFP that later this year it plans a seabed nodule collection test.

Still, China is not as advanced technologically as The Metals Company, experts say.

"I would characterize China as being two to four years behind them in terms of their technology," said Gilbert in Colorado.

Hache, the French expert, put the gap at five years.

But China has an advantage over firms like the Canadian one in recovering and processing nodules: its companies are supported by the state and China has infrastructure for processing metals.

The observer of the international seabed talks said China does not need seabed mining for metal supply, "but maybe geopolitically, in the context of maintaining their control over the commodities market."

China wants to keep its options open, this person said.

And while it supports an international mining code, China does not need one now and "they're not going to put pressure until they've decided strategically that they're ready," said Gilbert.