Under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the third Global Artificial Intelligence Summit will take place in Riyadh on Sept. 10-12, featuring more than 300 speakers and the participation of some of the most prominent experts in the field worldwide.
Saudi Arabia’s interest in AI appears deep-rooted, as the Kingdom aspires to become a leader in the field and is striving for a comprehensive digital transformation that strengthens its economic and intellectual standing, aligned with Vision 2030.
The Kingdom is steadily advancing in this area. In July of last year, it ranked first globally in the Government AI Strategy Index, one of the global ranking indicators published by Tortoise Intelligence.
This raises an important question: What unique contributions has the Kingdom made, and what more can it offer to the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence?
During last year’s summit in Riyadh, the Kingdom launched the AI Ethics Principles, developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). The Kingdom called on the world, both East and West, to promote the practical application of ethics throughout the AI development lifecycle.
Here, the concept of ethics emerges as the key. Saudi Arabia, a spiritual symbol before being a typical nation-state, approaches modernity from a perspective rooted in faith and human values, prioritizing people over material things, with the human being at the center—both the challenge and the solution.
It is no longer a secret that AI has a profound and growing impact on human activity, personal and social life, politics, economics, and thus on international peace and security, as well as on human development in general.
This underscores the need for the Riyadh Summit and the importance of fostering dialogue about these new technologies, reminding the world of the necessity to work diligently to ensure that violence and discrimination do not become embedded in the development and use of AI tools, particularly at the expense of the most vulnerable and marginalized.
AI has attracted top thinkers, respected politicians, and leading technologists. For example, the late American political figure Henry Kissinger expressed concern more than once about the potential for AI to trigger global crises and cause widespread harm. He emphasized the need for responsible leaders working tirelessly to prevent conflicts arising from what he termed an eternal dictatorship governing the world.
Are there genuine concerns that AI could widen the gaps between people? Perhaps the bigger fear is that humans themselves might be marginalized in favor of machines.
This doesn’t mean that AI is inherently dangerous, but it is a tool of modernity, much like other innovations, which requires a human-centered approach to guide its use and prevent it from becoming a catastrophe.
Elon Musk, the tech visionary, believes humanity is on the verge of unleashing a “genie from the bottle,” frequently warning that AI could one day become the most destructive force in history.
The Riyadh Summit comes at a crucial moment, between two stages or types of intelligence: the current artificial intelligence (AI), which involves highly advanced computer programs that simulate human behavior or thinking, and super artificial intelligence (SAI), where computer programs may eventually think independently and communicate with one another. This could inevitably lead to a future where machines surpass humans and take control of the Earth and its systems.
One of the most valuable contributions the Riyadh Summit can make is to emphasize that human conscience should remain at the heart of AI development. Conscience refers to ethics and public morals, aimed at achieving the common good for all of creation, rather than allowing AI to become a tool for class or knowledge-based division, where a few benefit at the expense of the rest of humanity.
The undeniable reality facing the participants at the Riyadh Summit is that the world of AI will only grow more complex and widespread. Therefore, it requires strong ethical support to address a revolution that cannot be suppressed or reversed, without stripping the future of the human nature needed to handle the consequences of its inventions.
The Riyadh Summit offers a creative opportunity to consider how AI advancements will ultimately impact human history and culture.
