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Saudi Arabia’s Ceer, KAUST Partner for Breakthroughs in Smart Mobility

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
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Saudi Arabia’s Ceer, KAUST Partner for Breakthroughs in Smart Mobility

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a leading graduate research institution, are partnering to research, develop and innovate for breakthroughs in smart mobility.

The agreement covers a host of areas, including connectivity and autonomous driving, and is in line with KAUST’s new strategy to transform research into economically productive innovations in sectors such as sustainable energy.

By working together, Ceer’s technical experts and KAUST’s researchers will advance technologies and find groundbreaking solutions that can be implemented as global firsts in Saudi Arabia, with applications for Ceer’s electric vehicles.

Ceer and KAUST Innovation will work together to develop an automotive vertical in support of Saudi-based, technology-focused SMEs and the Kingdom’s growing automotive manufacturing industry; promote economic diversification; and create jobs.

As part of efforts to enhance cooperation and foster knowledge exchange, Ceer and KAUST will share facilities for the purpose of conducting seminars, conferences, research and development and other collaborative activities.

“Our strategy is built on our ambition to contribute to both Saudi Vision 2030 and the country’s research, development and innovation priorities,” said KAUST President Dr. Tony Chan. “We want to transform groundbreaking research in smart mobility into concepts that can be used by the electric vehicle industry and in Ceer’s own EVs. By joining with Ceer, we can co-develop new ideas and applications that will help reduce emissions, make our vehicles safer and smarter, and ultimately help diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to partner with KAUST to co-create next-gen technologies for our made-in-Saudi electric vehicles,” said Ceer CEO James DeLuca. “Together, we will accelerate research in the automotive industry to create innovations here in the Kingdom while creating more high-value jobs for young nationals to further diversify the Saudi economy.”

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Technology

Google Pushes Global Agenda to Educate Workers, Lawmakers on AI

This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
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Google Pushes Global Agenda to Educate Workers, Lawmakers on AI

This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)

Alphabet’s Google, already facing an unprecedented regulatory onslaught, is looking to shape public perception and policies on artificial intelligence ahead of a global wave of AI regulation.

A key priority, one executive told Reuters, comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI.

“Getting more people and organizations, including governments, familiar with AI and using AI tools, makes for better AI policy and opens up new opportunities – it's a virtuous cycle,” said Kent Walker, Alphabet's president of global affairs.

As Google races to best Big Tech rivals including Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta in the AI arena, it is mindful of the heavy regulatory scrutiny it faces in its existing businesses in advertising and search.

In the European Union, Google has offered to sell a part of its ad tech business to appease regulators, Reuters reported.

In the US, the Justice Department is attempting to force a breakup of its Chrome Web browser — though it may shift course under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, governments globally are drafting new regulations on issues that could be exacerbated by AI, such as copyright and privacy.

The EU AI Act, which seeks to assess risk and require disclosures from general-purpose AI systems, has received pushback from tech giants that could find themselves in the crosshairs of multibillion-dollar fines. The DOJ has also sought to curtail Google’s advances in AI as a remedy in a federal case that found its search business to be an illegal monopoly.

Google executives see an opportunity to shape the narrative around a technology that has stoked emerging fears of mass job loss.

CEO Sundar Pichai announced in September a $120 million investment fund to build AI education programs. Deputies including Walker and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, are increasingly traveling globally to discuss policy recommendations with governments.

“There’s a lot of upside in terms of helping people who may be displaced by this. We do want to focus on that,” Walker said.

Efforts include expanding Grow with Google, a website that teaches workers skills like data analysis or IT support that are meant to expand their career prospects in technical fields. In December, the company said 1 million people had obtained a certificate for the program. It is adding specialized courses related to AI, such as one geared toward teachers, said program head Lisa Gevelber.

Courses alone are not enough to prepare workers, Walker said. “What really matters is if you have some sort of objective that people are working towards, like a credential that people can use to apply for a job.”

Google wants to increase experimentation on public-private partnerships, he said. The leading example so far, he said, is the “Skilled Trades and Readiness” program, in which the company has partnered with community colleges to train workers for potential jobs constructing data centers. Google is incorporating AI education into the program, he said.

“Ultimately, the federal government will look and see which proofs of concept are playing out – which of the green shoots are taking root,” Walker said. “If we can help fertilize that effort, that’s our role.”

In the long term, Walker said he expects a small fraction of existing jobs to be entirely displaced by AI, citing several studies commissioned by Google, Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. Those studies suggest AI will be incorporated into most jobs in some capacity.

As part of Google's efforts to prepare for this shift, it hired economist David Autor as a visiting fellow to study the impacts of AI on the workforce. Autor said in an interview that AI could be used to create more immersive training programs, akin to flight simulators.

“The history of adult retraining is not particularly glorious,” he said. “Adults don’t want to go back to class. Classroom training is not going to be the solution to a lot of retraining.”