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Saudi Arabia's ALLaM Model Joins IBM Watsonx as a Top Arabic Language Generator

The announcement was made at the IBM Think event underway in Boston. (SPA)
The announcement was made at the IBM Think event underway in Boston. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia's ALLaM Model Joins IBM Watsonx as a Top Arabic Language Generator

The announcement was made at the IBM Think event underway in Boston. (SPA)
The announcement was made at the IBM Think event underway in Boston. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on Tuesday that its ALLaM model, which generates Arabic text, was included in IBM’s leading watsonx platform.

The announcement was made at the IBM Think event underway in Boston.

This selection is testament to ALLaM’s advanced technical capabilities.

During its experimental phase, the model underwent rigorous testing against international standards for generative AI to ensure its readiness to compete with other models on watsonx, a platform widely used by developers around the globe.

Currently available in a trial version, ALLaM’s inclusion in watsonx allows for further professional evaluation. The testing will be instrumental in accelerating the release of the model's full capabilities and establishing it as a highly competitive force in the field of Arabic language generation.

The inclusion also aligns with Saudi Arabia's, specifically with SDAIA's, broader mission to promote the Arabic language on regional and global scale. The efforts focus on preserving the integrity of the language while promoting its use by enriching Arabic content in various fields, including technical, cultural, literary, scientific, and other humanities-based domains.

Ultimately, this initiative aims to leverage AI technologies and digital applications to foster cultural diversity and benefit all humanity, regardless of language, nationality, or educational background.

These efforts contribute to the goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030, driven by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SDAIA, to make the Kingdom a global leader in advanced technologies, including those associated with AI.

ALLaM is the first Saudi-developed AI system designed to answer user questions on different knowledge domains in Arabic.

The groundbreaking model leverages cutting-edge AI technology. Trained on a massive Arabic language dataset, one of the world's largest, and supplemented by English content, ALLaM ensures comprehensive responses.

Users can submit inquiries in text or audio format, and ALLaM will answer in the chosen format, drawing from the most trusted sources in the Kingdom and the Arab world.

The ALLaM model is the product of the SDAIA-IBM partnership. This collaboration is a significant milestone on the road to advancing Arabic language applications within generative AI, said Regional Vice President of IBM Saudi Arabia Ayman Al-Rashed.

"This cooperation unlocks the potential of Arabic language models for both public and private sectors, aligning with the cultural needs of the region," he added.

Al-Rashed further highlighted the broader impact of this project, stressing: "Companies can leverage these models to develop innovative services."

This latest development strengthens Saudi Arabia's position as a leader in AI technology tailored to the specific needs of the regional market, he went on to say.

Artificial intelligence experts, technicians, innovators, company presidents, and policymakers formed part of the IBM Think event.

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Technology

US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
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US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)

The Justice Department late Friday filed its response to TikTok's civil suit aimed at derailing a law that would force the app to be sold or face a US ban.

TikTok's suit in a Washington federal court argues that the law violates First Amendment rights of free speech.

The US response counters that the law addresses national security concerns, not speech, and that TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance is not able to claim First Amendment rights here.

The filing details concerns that ByteDance could, and would, comply with Chinese government demands for data about US users or yield to pressure to censor or promote content on the platform, senior justice department officials said in a briefing.

"The goal of this law is to ensure that young people, old people and everyone in between is able to use the platform in a safe manner," a senior justice department official said.

"And to use it in a way confident that their data is not ultimately going back to the Chinese government and what they're watching is not being directed by or censored by the Chinese government."

The response argues that the law's focus on foreign ownership of TikTok takes it out of the realm of the First Amendment.

US intelligence agencies are concerned that China can "weaponize" mobile apps, justice department officials said.

"It's clear that the Chinese government has for years been pursuing large, structured datasets of Americans through all sorts of manner, including malicious cyber activity; including efforts to buy that data from data brokers and others, and including efforts to build sophisticated AI models that can utilize that data," a senior justice department official said.

TikTok has said the demanded divestiture is "simply not possible" -- and not on the timeline required.

The bill signed by President Joe Biden early this year set a mid-January 2025 deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban.

The White House can extend the deadline by 90 days.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than one billion people worldwide," said the suit by TikTok and ByteDance.

- TikTok shutdown? -

ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok, leaving the lawsuit, which will likely go to the US Supreme Court, as its only option to avoid a ban.

"There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025," the lawsuit said, "silencing (those) who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."

TikTok first found itself in the crosshairs of former president Donald Trump's administration, which tried unsuccessfully to ban it.

That effort got bogged down in the courts when a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's attempt, saying the reasons for banning the app were likely overstated and that free speech rights were in jeopardy.

The new effort signed by Biden was designed to overcome the same legal headaches, and some experts believe the US Supreme Court could be open to allowing national security considerations to outweigh free speech protection.

"We view the statute as a game changer from the arguments that were in play back in 2020," a senior justice department official said.

There are serious doubts that any buyer could emerge to purchase TikTok even if ByteDance would agree to the request.

Big tech's usual suspects, such as Facebook parent Meta or YouTube's Google, will likely be barred from snapping up TikTok over antitrust concerns, and others could not afford one of the world's most successful apps used by about 170 million people in the United States alone.