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Riyadh Hosts Third Edition of Global AI Summit in September

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Riyadh Hosts Third Edition of Global AI Summit in September

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The third edition of the Global AI Summit will be held in Riyadh from September 10 to 12 under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).

In a statement, SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi expressed his gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed for his unwavering support for the Global AI Summit.

He emphasized the pivotal role this patronage plays in advancing the national data and AI agenda, maximizing the benefits of cutting-edge technologies, and improving the Kingdom's global standing and reinforcing its leadership position in the field.

“This summit builds on the remarkable achievements of its previous editions, held in 2020 and 2022 under the gracious patronage of the Crown Prince,” he added.

“The third edition of the summit distinguishes itself through its extensive range of topics covering diverse areas of global interest in data and AI. This is particularly significant considering the rapid progress of these technologies and their profound impact on individuals and institutions,” he stressed.

The summit will cover key topics in the field of AI, such as innovation and industry trends, shaping a brighter future for AI, and cultivating an enabling environment for human talent.

Sub-themes will delve into various issues, including local and global AI applications, the integral relationship between humans and AI, business leadership in AI, the correlation between data and applications, generative AI, AI ethics, AI processing and infrastructure, and the role of AI in smart cities.

Al-Ghamdi extended an invitation to leading AI policymakers and individuals passionate about data and innovation to participate in the upcoming summit.

The gathering aims to tackle critical issues surrounding AI development and establish a framework for its responsible use.

According to Al-Ghamdi, the summit is expected to have a positive impact both locally and internationally. It aims to strengthen the Kingdom's role in supporting the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, thus contributing to a better future for all.

Al-Ghamdi underscored the summit's significance to Saudi Vision 2030, led by Crown Prince Mohammed, and said it aspires to make Riyadh a global compass for AI advancements, fostering collaboration on responsible AI development that benefits humanity as a whole.

Attendees will gain insights from prominent international decision makers, ministers, heads of organizations, and tech CEOs.

The summit will facilitate interaction with leading data scientists and AI researchers, offering a global perspective on cutting-edge developments.

The event is expected to witness the signing of local and international agreements, which will form the foundation of future international initiatives in AI led by Saudi Arabia.

Al-Ghamdi said the third edition of the summit underscores the Kingdom's ambition, as envisioned by Crown Prince Mohammed, to become a leading global model in the AI field.

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Technology

AI Chatbots Must Learn to Say 'Help!' Says Microsoft Exec

A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California US November 7, 2017. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California US November 7, 2017. (Reuters)
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AI Chatbots Must Learn to Say 'Help!' Says Microsoft Exec

A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California US November 7, 2017. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California US November 7, 2017. (Reuters)

Generative AI tools will save companies lots of time and money, promises Vik Singh, a Microsoft vice president, even if the models must learn to admit when they just don't know what to do.
"Just to be really frank, the thing that's really missing today is that a model doesn't raise its hands and say 'Hey, I'm not sure, I need help,'" Singh told AFP in an interview.
Since last year, Microsoft, Google and their competitors have been rapidly deploying generative AI applications like ChatGPT, which produce all kinds of content on demand and give users the illusion of omniscience.
But despite progress, they still "hallucinate," or invent answers.
This is an important problem for the Copilot executive to solve: Singh's corporate customers can't afford for their AI systems to go off the rails, even occasionally.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, this week said he saw many of his customers increasingly frustrated with the meanderings of Microsoft's Copilot.
Singh insisted that "really smart people" were trying to find ways for a chatbot to admit "when it doesn't know the right answer and to ask for help."
'Real savings'
A more humble model would be no less useful, in Singh's opinion. Even if the model has to turn to a human in 50 percent of cases, that still saves "tons of money."
At one Microsoft client, "every time a new request comes in, they spend $8 to have a customer service rep answer it, so there are real savings to be had, and it's also a better experience for the customer because they get a faster response."
Singh arrived at Microsoft in January and this summer took over as head of the teams developing "Copilot," Microsoft's AI assistant that specializes in sales, accounting and online services.
These applications have the gargantuan task of bringing in revenue and justifying the massive investments in generative AI.
At the height of the AI frenzy, start-ups driving the technology were promising systems so advanced that they would "uplift humanity," in the words of Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, which is mainly funded by Microsoft.
But for the time being, the new technology is mainly used to boost productivity, and hopefully profits.
According to Microsoft, Copilot can do research for salespeople, freeing up time to call customers. Lumen, a telecom company, "saves around $50 million a year" doing this, said Singh.
Singh's teams are working on integrating Copilot directly into the tech giant's software and making it more autonomous.
"Let's say I'm a sales rep and I have a customer call," suggested the executive. Two weeks later, the model can "nudge the rep to go follow up, or better, just go and automatically send the email on the rep's behalf because it's been approved to do so."
'First inning'
In other words, before finding a solution to global warming, AI is expected to rid humanity of boring, repetitive chores.
"We're in the first inning," Singh said. "A lot of these things are productivity based, but they obviously have huge benefits."
Will all these productivity gains translate into job losses?
Leaders of large firms, such as K Krithivasan, boss of Indian IT giant TCS, have declared that generative AI will all but wipe out call centers.
But Singh, like many Silicon Valley executives, is counting on technology to make humans more creative and even create new jobs.
He pointed to his experience at Yahoo in 2008, when a dozen editors chose the articles for the home page.
"We came up with the idea of using AI to optimize this process, and some people asked 'Oh my God, what's going to happen to the employees?'" said Singh.
The automated system made it possible to renew content more quickly, thereby increasing the number of clicks on links but also the need for new articles.
"In the end," said the executive, "we had to recruit more editors."