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SDAIA President: AI Saved 1.5 Billion Liters of Water, Cut Carbon Emissions Equivalent to 1 Million Trees

SDAIA's President spoke at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 in Riyadh. SPA
SDAIA's President spoke at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 in Riyadh. SPA
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SDAIA President: AI Saved 1.5 Billion Liters of Water, Cut Carbon Emissions Equivalent to 1 Million Trees

SDAIA's President spoke at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 in Riyadh. SPA
SDAIA's President spoke at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 in Riyadh. SPA

Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) President Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi has said that artificial intelligence (AI) has contributed to saving 150 million sheets of paper and conserving 1.5 billion liters of water.

In a speech at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 held on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) in Riyadh, Alghamdi shed light on Wednesday on the role of data and AI in accelerating progress and building a greener and more resilient world.

He highlighted the significant environmental impact resulting from digital transformation and innovation in the field of AI, including reducing carbon-dioxide emissions equivalent to the impact of a million trees, while also saving an average of 20 working days per year for each citizen through digital services.

Alghamdi stated that the planet is facing unprecedented challenges today, from record high temperatures to escalating climate risks that threaten global stability. At such moments, under the leadership of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Kingdom is moving forward with insightful vision and determination, leading efforts towards a sustainable future.

He added that the Saudi Green Initiative lies at the heart of transformative efforts, being a comprehensive national strategy comprising over 80 initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, expanding green spaces, and protecting our environment.

Alghamdi noted that SDAIA is monitoring 4 billion square meters of urban areas in Riyadh through analyzing 540 gigabytes of satellite image data that is updated annually through the Smart C national platform for smart cities as part of the authority’s role as the national reference for data and AI.

The SDAIA president spotlighted key digital services that have contributed to the digital transformation of government services and empowering citizens through various government platforms. He said that the Tawakkalna comprehensive national app serves over 32 million users, successfully handling up to 1 billion interactions daily.

Meanwhile, the unified national access platform Nafath handles over 3 billion digital interactions, leading to about 260,000 daily visits to service centers. The National Platform for Charitable Work "Ehsan" contributes to the implementation of 1,150 environmental projects in partnership with 480 charities, while the government cloud-computing platform Deem integrated 260 data centers, reducing energy consumption by 64 megawatts and eliminating around 600,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Alghamdi highlighted that AI contributed to the development of the renewable energy sector, a significant step supporting the Saudi Vision to achieve its ambitious goal of having 50% of its power generated from renewable sources by 2030.

The SDAIA president invited everyone to join the Kingdom's efforts to preserve a flourishing planet for the good of humanity, emphasizing SDAIA’s commitment to enhancing the utilization of data and AI in collaboration with all stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.

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Technology

Amazon Says Blocked 1,800 North Koreans from Applying for Jobs

Amazon logo (Reuters)
Amazon logo (Reuters)
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Amazon Says Blocked 1,800 North Koreans from Applying for Jobs

Amazon logo (Reuters)
Amazon logo (Reuters)

US tech giant Amazon said it has blocked over 1,800 North Koreans from joining the company, as Pyongyang sends large numbers of IT workers overseas to earn and launder funds.

In a post on LinkedIn, Amazon's Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt said last week that North Korean workers had been "attempting to secure remote IT jobs with companies worldwide, particularly in the US".

He said the firm had seen nearly a one-third rise in applications by North Koreans in the past year, reported AFP.

The North Koreans typically use "laptop farms" -- a computer in the United States operated remotely from outside the country, he said.

He warned the problem wasn't specific to Amazon and "is likely happening at scale across the industry".

Tell-tale signs of North Korean workers, Schmidt said, included wrongly formatted phone numbers and dodgy academic credentials.

In July, a woman in Arizona was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for running a laptop farm helping North Korean IT workers secure remote jobs at more than 300 US companies.

The scheme generated more than $17 million in revenue for her and North Korea, officials said.

Last year, Seoul's intelligence agency warned that North Korean operatives had used LinkedIn to pose as recruiters and approach South Koreans working at defense firms to obtain information on their technologies.

"North Korea is actively training cyber personnel and infiltrating key locations worldwide," Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

"Given Amazon's business nature, the motive seems largely economic, with a high likelihood that the operation was planned to steal financial assets," he added.

North Korea's cyber-warfare program dates back to at least the mid-1990s.

It has since grown into a 6,000-strong cyber unit known as Bureau 121, which operates from several countries, according to a 2020 US military report.

In November, Washington announced sanctions on eight individuals accused of being "state-sponsored hackers", whose illicit operations were conducted "to fund the regime's nuclear weapons program" by stealing and laundering money.

The US Department of the Treasury has accused North Korea-affiliated cybercriminals of stealing over $3 billion over the past three years, primarily in cryptocurrency.

Technology

KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
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KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and SARsatX, a Saudi company specializing in Earth observation technologies, have developed computer-generated data to train deep learning models to predict oil spills.

According to KAUST, validating the use of synthetic data is crucial for monitoring environmental disasters, as early detection and rapid response can significantly reduce the risks of environmental damage.

Dean of the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division at KAUST Dr. Matthew McCabe noted that one of the biggest challenges in environmental applications of artificial intelligence is the shortage of high-quality training data.

He explained that this challenge can be addressed by using deep learning to generate synthetic data from a very small sample of real data and then training predictive AI models on it.

This approach can significantly enhance efforts to protect the marine environment by enabling faster and more reliable monitoring of oil spills while reducing the logistical and environmental challenges associated with data collection.

Technology

Uber, Lyft to Test Baidu Robotaxis in UK from Next Year 

A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
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Uber, Lyft to Test Baidu Robotaxis in UK from Next Year 

A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)

Uber Technologies and Lyft are teaming up with Chinese tech giant Baidu to try out driverless taxis in the UK next year, marking a major step in the global race to commercialize robotaxis.

It highlights how ride-hailing platforms are accelerating autonomous rollout through partnerships, positioning London as an early proving ground for large-scale robotaxi services ‌in Europe.

Lyft, meanwhile, plans ‌to deploy Baidu's ‌autonomous ⁠vehicles in Germany ‌and the UK under its platform, pending regulatory approval. Both companies have abandoned in-house development of autonomous vehicles and now rely on alliances to accelerate adoption.

The partnerships underscore how global robotaxi rollouts are gaining momentum. ⁠Alphabet's Waymo said in October it would start ‌tests in London this ‍month, while Baidu ‍and WeRide have launched operations in the ‍Middle East and Switzerland.

Robotaxis promise safer, greener and more cost-efficient rides, but profitability remains uncertain. Public companies like Pony.ai and WeRide are still loss-making, and analysts warn the economics of expensive fleets could pressure margins ⁠for platforms such as Uber and Lyft.

Analysts have said hybrid networks, mixing robotaxis with human drivers, may be the most viable model to manage demand peaks and pricing.

Lyft completed its $200 million acquisition of European taxi app FreeNow from BMW and Mercedes-Benz in July, marking its first major expansion beyond North America and ‌giving the US ride-hailing firm access to nine countries across Europe.