Saudi Arabia to Host First International AI Olympiad

SDAIA will hold the first international edition of the International AI Olympiad (IAIO) between September 8-12
SDAIA will hold the first international edition of the International AI Olympiad (IAIO) between September 8-12
TT

Saudi Arabia to Host First International AI Olympiad

SDAIA will hold the first international edition of the International AI Olympiad (IAIO) between September 8-12
SDAIA will hold the first international edition of the International AI Olympiad (IAIO) between September 8-12

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) will hold the first international edition of the International AI Olympiad (IAIO) between September 8-12, in which some 25 countries are expected to take part.

The event will be held in collaboration with the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) and the International Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) in Slovenia, under UNESCO auspices.

SDAIA aims to establish this international Olympiad as a premier platform for AI competitions, nurturing talent, and fostering skill development. The event will be a forum for scientists and enthusiasts from around the world to exchange ideas, enhance capabilities, and explore the latest advancements in the field.

Moreover, SDAIA envisions IAIO as a catalyst for future global expansions, serving as a powerful motivator for young men and women the world over to engage in activities pertaining to AI.

This initiative aims to cultivate a new generation equipped with a profound understanding of the transformative technologies that have become an integral part of humanity's daily lives and business systems.

In preparation for the Olympiad, SDAIA conducted a series of virtual lectures on AI, on the Olympiad website, designed to qualify international teams for the competition and empower interested students from various countries to expand their knowledge in this crucial domain.

The lectures spanned five weeks and covered diverse topics such as Introduction to AI, Social Impact of AI (ethics, fairness), Kernel Methods, Working with Data, Deployed Deep Generative Models, Supervised Learning, AI-Search, Learning Evaluation, Reinforcement Learning, and Unsupervised Learning.

Each participating country fielded a team of up to four students, who will compete individually over two days during the third edition of the Global AI Summit. The first day is slated to focus on scientific questions, while the second involve solving scientific problems using AI technologies through a specially designed platform.

IAIO aligns with SDAIA's commitment to raising the Kingdom's global standing, making it a leading force in data and AI. It also contributes to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN by raising awareness about the significance of advanced technologies and equipping communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to master them.



Amazon Plans $5 bln of Small-ticket Exports from India in 2024 in Shift from China

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
TT

Amazon Plans $5 bln of Small-ticket Exports from India in 2024 in Shift from China

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)

Amazon Inc plans to export about $5 billion of small-ticket items from India this year, up from nearly $3 billion in 2023, supplying markets such as the United States and Britain, a company official said, marking a shift away from China.

The move by one of the world's largest e-commerce companies underscores India's growing role in the global supply chain and reflects a broader trend among multinational corporations to diversify sourcing away from China.

Walmart Inc plans to hike its supplies from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, up from about $3 billion in 2020

"India is naturally one of the largest sources of selection for Amazon," Bhupen Wakankar, director of global trade at Amazon, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

He said Amazon had partnered with the India's commerce ministry and trade associations to connect with thousands of small manufacturers across the country, offering products from textiles and jewellery to household items and Ayurveda products.

Such items are usually easy to post directly to customers abroad and less affected by import taxes than costlier products.

"We are investing significantly in tools and technologies to help sellers optimise their reach, enhance product discovery, and increase sales," he said, ahead of an exporters' meeting in New Delhi.

Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart have reshaped India's retail landscape in recent years, investing billions of dollars to source supplies from small businesses and attracting consumers through hefty discounts.

But they face criticism from trading and political groups.

India's commerce minister has accused Amazon and other e-commerce companies of predatory pricing practices and said the sector's rapid rise should not disrupt millions of brick-and-mortar stores operating in the country.

Last June, Amazon announced plans to increase its investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, including funds for its cloud business.

Through the Global Selling Programme, initiated in 2015, Amazon has enabled about 150,000 small Indian exporters to sell roughly $8 billion worth of products directly to overseas consumers by the end of 2023, Wakankar said.

The company aims to facilitate $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2025, he added.