SDAIA Showcases Efforts in Utilizing AI to Support Entrepreneurs at Saudi-Korean Business Forum

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
TT

SDAIA Showcases Efforts in Utilizing AI to Support Entrepreneurs at Saudi-Korean Business Forum

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) participated in a working session centered around innovation and technology during the Saudi-Korean Business Forum in Seoul, South Korea.

Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and a delegation of government and private sector officials are on an official visit to the Korean capital. The visit aims to bolster commercial relations in key economic sectors between both nations, strengthening their economic partnership.

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the forum’s Saudi Arabia pavilion, SDAIA showcased the Rowad initiative, a package designed to assist entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.

The initiative facilitates entrepreneurs and startups in verifying client data electronically by integrating with the National Information Center databases, ensuring top-notch safety, reliability, and supporting entrepreneurs' contributions to the national GDP. It enhances identity uses in emerging sectors and improves facility data quality.

SDAIA also presented plans for the third edition of the Global AI Summit, scheduled for Riyadh in September. Featuring over 250 speakers from across the globe, the summit will delve into AI potentials and its impacts across diverse fields.

SDAIA’s participation in the forum aligns with the Authority’s commitment to fostering partnerships with international entities. Through such collaborations, SDAIA strives to realize its vision of establishing a data-driven national economy, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and positioning the Kingdom among leading countries in data and AI-driven economies.



Apple and Google Face UK Investigation into Mobile Browser Dominance

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
TT

Apple and Google Face UK Investigation into Mobile Browser Dominance

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new UK digital rules taking effect next year.

The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said, The AP reported.

“This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices,” the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on “mobile ecosystems.”

The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers “the clearest or easiest option.”

And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two US Big Tech companies “significantly reduces their financial incentives” to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.

Both companies said they will “engage constructively” with the CMA.

Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.

Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system “has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's “committed to open platforms that empower consumers.”

It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the dominance of Big Tech companies. US federal prosecutors this week unveiled their proposals to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser as they target its monopoly in online search.

The CMA's final report is due by March. The watchdog indicated it would recommend using the UK's new digital competition rulebook set to take effect next year, which includes new powers to rein in tech companies, to prioritize further investigation into Apple’s and Google’s “activities in mobile ecosystems."