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SDAIA President Highlights Saudi Leadership in Responsible AI Governance During Geneva Meetings

The meetings reviewed ways to strengthen international cooperation in data and AI, boost governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promote their ethical and responsible adoption. (SPA)
The meetings reviewed ways to strengthen international cooperation in data and AI, boost governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promote their ethical and responsible adoption. (SPA)
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SDAIA President Highlights Saudi Leadership in Responsible AI Governance During Geneva Meetings

The meetings reviewed ways to strengthen international cooperation in data and AI, boost governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promote their ethical and responsible adoption. (SPA)
The meetings reviewed ways to strengthen international cooperation in data and AI, boost governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promote their ethical and responsible adoption. (SPA)

President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi underscored on Tuesday Saudi Arabia's commitment, under the directives of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of SDAIA's Board of Directors, to advancing international efforts to strengthen AI governance and promote the responsible and safe use of its technologies in support of humanity and sustainable development.

He made his remarks during separate meetings with Director-General of the International Labour Organization Gilbert F. Houngbo, World Bank Vice President for Digital and AI Sangbu Kim, and Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation Dr. Karsten Wildberger, on the sidelines of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva.

The meetings were attended by Saudi Permanent Representative to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila.

The meetings reviewed ways to strengthen international cooperation in data and AI, boost governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promote their ethical and responsible adoption in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals while helping address future risks affecting societies and labor markets.

Alghamdi highlighted the Kingdom's initiatives to advance AI governance and ethics, most notably the establishment of the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh under the auspices of UNESCO.

He underlined the Kingdom's efforts to support the responsible adoption of AI through governance frameworks, risk management tools, maturity assessments, and accountability mechanisms that foster trust and encourage innovation.

Alghamdi invited the international officials to participate in the fourth Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, organized by SDAIA in cooperation with UNESCO and ICAIRE, to be held in Riyadh from September 14 to 17, as part of the Kingdom's Year of Artificial Intelligence.

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Technology

China Smartphone Sales Drop 13% During 618 Festival as Memory Costs Limit Discounts

A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. (Reuters)
A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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China Smartphone Sales Drop 13% During 618 Festival as Memory Costs Limit Discounts

A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. (Reuters)
A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. (Reuters)

Smartphone sales in China fell 13% year-on-year during the month-long 618 shopping festival, as brands raised prices to offset higher memory costs, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

Sales declined from May 26 to June 21, with all major Chinese brands except Huawei posting double-digit drops as fewer promotions compared to last year weighed on demand. Honor sales dropped 33%, while Xiaomi's fell 24%.

Higher memory prices amid a rapid ‌build-out of ‌AI infrastructure have pushed up handset costs this year, leaving brands ‌with ⁠less room to ⁠offer steep discounts during the 618 festival, seen as a barometer for the country's booming e-commerce sector.

"Some older and newer models from Chinese smartphone brands were priced higher than comparable models a year earlier, while discounts during this year's 618 festival were generally less aggressive, both in terms of the size of price cuts and the range of products covered," said Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.

"Apple's prices ⁠were broadly unchanged, but its discounts were also smaller."

Huawei Technologies ‌led the market with a 21% share, ‌and was the only major brand to record year-on-year growth during the 618 period, with ‌sales rising 19%.

Its Enjoy 90 Pro Max was its best-selling model. ‌The Mate 80 also performed well, supported by promotions.

Apple's sales fell 9% from a year earlier, although the US tech giant climbed to the No. 2 spot after rolling out incentives about a month ahead of June 18.

The discounts offered savings of up ‌to 2,000 yuan ($295) on the iPhone 17 Pro series through a mix of official price cuts, platform subsidies and trade-in ⁠deals.

Still, Apple's sales ⁠remained lower than a year earlier, partly because promotions for the iPhone 16 series were more aggressive during the same period last year.

The 618 festival, which began as a one-day event marking JD.com's founding on June 18, 1998, has since grown into a month-long sales campaign, with major e-commerce platforms competing for consumer spending.

In recent years, however, China's biggest shopping festivals have struggled to generate their former buzz, as extended discount periods and weak consumer sentiment have curbed appetite for non-essential spending, even at reduced prices.

Counterpoint said the 618 festival helped smartphone sales recover in June from the previous month. But it added that the market was likely to enter a seasonal slowdown afterward and post a double-digit decline in shipments for the year.

Technology

Microsoft Announces 4,800 Job Cuts as it Revamps Xbox

FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
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Microsoft Announces 4,800 Job Cuts as it Revamps Xbox

FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa

Microsoft said Monday it was eliminating about 4,800 jobs -- roughly two percent of its global workforce -- in a sweeping restructuring concentrated in its Xbox gaming divisions, AFP reported.

The cuts include the deepest overhaul in Xbox's history, with approximately 3,200 gaming jobs to be shed over the coming fiscal year, four game studios being spun off or sold, and a fifth entering a review process that could lead to closure, the company said.

Technology

UN Chief Warns AI is Developing Faster than Rules Can Keep Up

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
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UN Chief Warns AI is Developing Faster than Rules Can Keep Up

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)

The United Nations secretary general on Monday warned that AI is developing faster than anyone can keep up, ‌urging the ‌need for ‌globally ⁠harmonized rules to reduce ⁠potential risks - especially to children, Reuters said.

"A technology that can reshape ⁠economies, transform the world ‌of ‌work, sway ‌elections and tilt ‌the balance of security is being deployed faster than ‌anyone – including the people building it – ⁠can ⁠keep up," Antonio Guterres told delegates at the first-ever government-level global dialogue on AI in Geneva.