SDAIA Inaugurates Excellence Center for Generative AI

SDAIA inaugurates the Center of Excellence for Generative Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with NVIDIA. (SPA)
SDAIA inaugurates the Center of Excellence for Generative Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with NVIDIA. (SPA)
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SDAIA Inaugurates Excellence Center for Generative AI

SDAIA inaugurates the Center of Excellence for Generative Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with NVIDIA. (SPA)
SDAIA inaugurates the Center of Excellence for Generative Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with NVIDIA. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) inaugurated the Center of Excellence for Generative Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with the global technology company NVIDIA and launched the pilot version of the ALLAM application, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

This step is the first of its kind in the region for its importance in achieving the benefit of AI, enhancing the Kingdom's position in the field, and supporting cognitive capabilities.

Several ministers and officials in the public and private sectors, Saudi universities, hospitals, specialists in technology companies, and those interested in the fields of artificial intelligence from within the Kingdom along with foreign participants attended the event.

These accomplishments are in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 – led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SDAIA – reflecting his unlimited support for efforts to make the Kingdom a global technological hub for the latest advanced technologies related to AI.

The innovative projects adopted by SDAIA in AI are part of the authority's capacity as the national reference for data and AI in all related aspects of the Kingdom.

The projects are receiving support from Crown Prince Mohammed in recognition of the role they play in improving data and AI, stimulating their growth and utilizing them to serve humanity and lead the Kingdom's efforts to become a global leader in AI.



AI Chatbot Startup Character.AI Launches New Calls Feature

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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AI Chatbot Startup Character.AI Launches New Calls Feature

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Artificial Intelligence chatbot startup Character.AI said on Thursday it has launched a calls feature that allows users to have voice conversations with their AI characters, ratcheting up efforts to compete with rivals including OpenAI.

AI-boom has prompted startups to release new features to their chatbots as competitors such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Google and Amazon.com-backed Anthropic are looking to gain market share by engaging new users.

The availability of free two-way voice calls on Character.AI's app has come following OpenAI's announcement on Tuesday that the ChatGPT maker's rollout of the advanced voice mode of its latest model GPT-4o is delayed by one month.

Character.AI, co-founded by Noam Shazeer, who helped invent "transformer" AI architecture while at Google that underpins systems like Gemini and ChatGPT, enables users to create customized AI companions with specific personalities and values.

The Menlo Park, California-based startup said the new calls feature prompted more than 20 million calls from over 3 million unique users in its early rollout, suggesting a strong engagement.

Character.AI launched Character Voice, a suite of features that allows users to hear characters speaking to them in one-on-one chats, for all users in March.

Alphabet's Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI last year, two sources briefed on the matter had told Reuters.