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Saudi Aramco, NVIDIA Collaborate on Quantum Computing 

Aramco's Upstream is embarking on a digital transformation journey aimed at accelerating technological breakthroughs in the quest for energy. (SPA)
Aramco's Upstream is embarking on a digital transformation journey aimed at accelerating technological breakthroughs in the quest for energy. (SPA)
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Saudi Aramco, NVIDIA Collaborate on Quantum Computing 

Aramco's Upstream is embarking on a digital transformation journey aimed at accelerating technological breakthroughs in the quest for energy. (SPA)
Aramco's Upstream is embarking on a digital transformation journey aimed at accelerating technological breakthroughs in the quest for energy. (SPA)

Delivering energy to the world demands extraordinary capabilities, and Saudi Aramco, as a leading global energy powerhouse, takes pride in carrying the beacon of technological innovation to help advance the world's potential.

Aramco's Upstream is embarking on a digital transformation journey aimed at accelerating technological breakthroughs in the quest for energy. Inspired by the transformative Dammam 7 story — Saudi Arabia's first commercial oil well — and its namesake Dammam-7 Supercomputer — Aramco's most powerful supercomputer — the Upstream Digital Center (UDC), the digital arm of Aramco's Upstream segment, is ushering in a new era with quantum computing capabilities.

Using the Dammam-7 Supercomputer accelerated by NVIDIA graphical processing units (GPUs), Aramco has demonstrated one of the largest quantum computing emulators in the region, called Dammam-7Q (DMM7Q), in an ambitious collaborative effort with NVIDIA.

Quantum computing promises to transform how advanced computing can tackle the most complex problems facing a host of industries, including energy. Exploring new reserves requires sophisticated computational techniques, where geoscientists must draw on increasing computing power to process peta-scale seismic data and deliver accurate subsurface images.

Driven by the Upstream Digital Transformation, UDC aims to innovate at the frontier with quantum computing, through collaboration with NVIDIA, delivering innovations to harness the power of the hybrid supercomputers of tomorrow, said UDC Vice President Ashraf Al-Tahini.

In recent work with NVIDIA, Aramco has explored the utilization of an algorithm called the quantum Hadamard edge detection, specifically designed to take advantage of tomorrow’s quantum processors to dramatically enhance details in subsurface images.

The future of supercomputing is hybrid, where various architectures work simultaneously to expand the algorithms and applications that can be tackled by harnessing the power of advanced computing.

Senior Director of CAE, Quantum and CUDA-X at NVIDIA Tim Costa said quantum algorithms offer huge promise, but their development and deployment require coordinating the state of the art in both quantum and conventional supercomputing.

To accelerate quantum computing adoption, Aramco innovators are drawing on the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform to run GPU-accelerated emulations of future quantum computing hardware, allowing them to develop and assess quantum algorithms that can be used for geosciences.

Furthermore, CUDA-Q has enabled Aramco to explore how actual quantum algorithms will run on hybrid systems that leverage both conventional processors like CPUs and GPUs alongside quantum hardware, simplifying the distribution of computational tasks between these different coprocessors.

Using CUDA-Q, Aramco has been able to emulate up to 30 qubits per GPU, scaling to more qubits utilizing multiple GPUs in the Dammam-7 Supercomputer to detect 3D seismic faults on a full 3D seismic dataset. This success delivered a pioneering quantum-based algorithm, marking a new frontier for upstream computing.

Costa said the collaboration with Aramco demonstrates how transformative applications can be discovered when quantum researchers have the right platform for accessing accelerated computing.

This work marks a collaboration between Aramco and NVIDIA to explore the hybrid quantum-classical supercomputers of tomorrow.

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Technology

Award-Winning Game Studio Chief Rules Out AI Art

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
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Award-Winning Game Studio Chief Rules Out AI Art

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)

The head of Larian Studios, the developers behind 2023's game of the year "Baldur's Gate 3", has vowed to ban any use of AI art in the outfit's upcoming project "Divinity".

The intervention by Swen Vincke follows repeated episodes of fan outrage over AI art in games in recent months -- with this year's game of the year winner "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" stripped of its Indie Game Awards wins over alleged use of generative AI.

"There is not going to be any GenAI (generative AI) art in 'Divinity'," Vincke said Friday in an "Ask Me Anything" session on discussion site Reddit.

Fans had blasted Larian last month after Vincke told Bloomberg some generative AI was being used during development.

"We already said this doesn't mean the actual concept art is generated by AI, but we understand it created confusion," Vincke posted on Friday.

"To ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using GenAI tools during concept art development," he added.

Vincke had said in December that the team's use of generative AI was "to explore references, just like we use Google and art books... at the very early ideation stages".

The new "Divinity" -- revealed to great fanfare at the December 11 Game Awards in Los Angeles -- is hotly awaited by gamers enthralled by the sprawling story and engaging characters of "Baldur's Gate 3", which has sold more than 20 million copies.

Despite his commitment on AI art, Vincke said that generative AI "can help" with other aspects of development, as studios "continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out".

He insisted that would benefit gamers through "a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately, a higher-quality game".

Some executives believe generative AI's infusion into the industry will lead to a flowering of more ambitious titles that cost less to produce.

But they are running up against artists' fears that they will be pushed out of work and some gamers' concern that AI use will make for blander, less creative work.

French title "Expedition 33" saw its Indie Game Awards titles including "game of the year" withdrawn last year over some AI-generated art assets, which developers Sandfall Interactive insists were placeholders that it replaced in an update to the final game.

Technology

Lenovo Unveils AI Agent to Bridge PCs, Phones and Wearables at CES

Attendees gather for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2026. (AFP)
Attendees gather for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Lenovo Unveils AI Agent to Bridge PCs, Phones and Wearables at CES

Attendees gather for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2026. (AFP)
Attendees gather for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2026. (AFP)

Lenovo, the world's top PC maker, unveiled its own AI assistant Tuesday at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, promising a tool that follows users seamlessly across laptops, smartphones and connected devices.

The Beijing-based company commanded 28 percent of global PC market share in the third quarter of 2025, ahead of rivals HP at 21.5 percent and Dell at 14.5 percent, according to US research firm Gartner.

Lenovo's new artificial intelligence agent, dubbed Qira, is designed as an autonomous interface capable of performing tasks rather than simply generating content on demand, a move Lenovo hopes will showcase the breadth of its product portfolio.

Unlike rivals focused on single categories, Lenovo was the only major manufacturer whose offering spanned laptops, tablets and smartphones -- under its Motorola brand, acquired in 2014 -- as well as servers and even supercomputers.

The company also unveiled prototypes of connected glasses and an AI-powered pendant, still in testing, that captures "important moments" with user consent by recording conversations, said Motorola's Angelina Gomez.

Codenamed the AI Perceptive Companion, the pendant features a microphone and camera and "sees what you see and hears what your hear," Lenovo vice president Luca Rossi told reporters.

An interaction with Qira can start via the pendant, continue on a smartphone and end on a laptop, with the agent retaining user context across devices.

It can summarize the highlights of a user's day, draft and send emails, or even select photos from archives to post on social media.

Lenovo stressed it is not positioning Qira as a rival to Microsoft's Copilot and announced the integration of Copilot into Motorola smartphones.

For major hardware makers, the challenge now is proving the utility of generative AI in everyday applications rather than simply flaunting cutting-edge tech.

Amid lingering geopolitical tensions with Washington, Lenovo was the only Chinese firm to take center stage at CES, choosing Las Vegas's futuristic Sphere venue for its showcase.

Executives emphasized the company's global footprint, with most revenue generated outside China and several top managers from overseas.

Technology

At CES, Auto and Tech Companies Transform Cars into Proactive Companions

The Afeela Prototype 2026 displayed during a Sony Honda Mobility news conference ahead of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
The Afeela Prototype 2026 displayed during a Sony Honda Mobility news conference ahead of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
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At CES, Auto and Tech Companies Transform Cars into Proactive Companions

The Afeela Prototype 2026 displayed during a Sony Honda Mobility news conference ahead of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
The Afeela Prototype 2026 displayed during a Sony Honda Mobility news conference ahead of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)

In a vision of the near future shared at CES, a girl slides into the back seat of her parents' car and the cabin instantly comes alive. The vehicle recognizes her, knows it’s her birthday and cues up her favorite song without a word spoken.

“Think of the car as having a soul and being an extension of your family,” Sri Subramanian, Nvidia's global head of generative AI for automotive, said Tuesday.

Subramanian's example, shared with a CES audience on the show's opening day in Las Vegas, illustrates the growing sophistication of AI-powered in-cabin systems and the expanding scope of personal data that smart vehicles may collect, retain and use to shape the driving experience.

Across the show floor, the car emerged less as a machine and more as a companion as automakers and tech companies showcased vehicles that can adapt to drivers and passengers in real time — from tracking heart rates and emotions to alerting if a baby or young child is accidentally left in the car.

Bosch debuted its new AI vehicle extension that aims to turn the cabin into a “proactive companion.” Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom, announced Alpamayo, its new vehicle AI initiative designed to help autonomous cars think through complex driving decisions. CEO Jensen Huang called it a “ChatGPT moment for physical AI.”

But experts say the push toward a more personalized driving experience is intensifying questions about how much driver data is being collected.

“The magic of AI should not just mean all privacy and security protections are off,” said Justin Brookman, director of marketplace policy at Consumer Reports.

Unlike smartphones or online platforms, cars have only recently become major repositories of personal data, Brookman said. As a result, the industry is still trying to establish the “rules of the road” for what automakers and tech companies are allowed to do with driver data.

That uncertainty is compounded by the uniquely personal nature of cars, Brookman said. Many people see their vehicles as an extension of themselves — or even their homes — which he said can make the presence of cameras, microphones and other monitoring tools feel especially invasive.

“Sometimes privacy issues are difficult for folks to internalize,” he said. “People generally feel they wish they had more privacy but also don’t necessarily know what they can do to address it.”

At the same time, Brookman said, many of these technologies offer real safety benefits for drivers and can be good for the consumer.

On the CES show floor, some of those conveniences were on display at automotive supplier Gentex’s booth, where attendees sat in a mock six-seater van in front of large screens demonstrating how closely the company’s AI-equipped sensors and cameras could monitor a driver and passengers.

“Are they sleepy? Are they drowsy? Are they not seated properly? Are they eating, talking on phones? Are they angry? You name it, we can figure out how to detect that in the cabin,” said Brian Brackenbury, director of product line management at Gentex.

Brackenbury said it's ultimately up to the car manufacturers to decide how the vehicle reacts to the data that's collected, which he said is stored in the car and deleted after the video frames, for example, have been processed. "

“One of the mantras we have at Gentex is we're not going to do it just because we can, just because the technology allows it,” Brackebury said, adding that “data privacy is really important.”