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SDAIA, EU Experts Discuss Future of AI Technologies in Visual Arts

The meeting was held at the headquarters of SDAIA - SPA
The meeting was held at the headquarters of SDAIA - SPA
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SDAIA, EU Experts Discuss Future of AI Technologies in Visual Arts

The meeting was held at the headquarters of SDAIA - SPA
The meeting was held at the headquarters of SDAIA - SPA

Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority "SDAIA" hosted a meeting between a number of artificial intelligence specialists in SDAIA and art experts at the National Institutes of Culture of the European Union.

During the meeting, they discussed the project of the future of visual arts in light of the renewed uses of AI technologies, in addition to reviewing the global “AI Artathon” initiative presented by SDAIA for creative artists in various fields of art from around the world, SPA reported.

 

The meeting, held at the headquarters of SDAIA, discussed the relationship between AI technologies and visual and audio arts in addition to aesthetic arts, and how these technologies can be utilized to serve and contribute to the creation of new forms of art that are no less creative than those produced by human senses in forming artistic images.

They also discussed the mechanism and the future of the AI Artathon initiative.

The European participants expressed their admiration for the AI Artathon initiative, which provided creators from various countries around the world with the opportunity to showcase their artistic abilities and create works of art using artificial intelligence and Artathon technologies.

This initiative is one of the cognitive initiatives of SDAIA that aligns with the Kingdom's cultural character.

It has been integrated with the artistic aspect to reflect artistic concepts that draw inspiration from various Saudi cultural fields, particularly in natural heritage, heritage and archaeological sites, social heritage, and visual arts.

The delegation of National Culture Institutes of the European Union included French experts who closely examined the rich experience of SDAIA in the AI Artathon.

The first edition of the AI Artathon was launched in 2021 with the participation of 60 countries and 300 experts in data science, AI, and artists who competed to create the best visual art using AI technologies.

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At Florida’s Capybara Cafe, Patrons Hang out with the ‘It’ Animals of the Moment — Furry Rodents

A capybara gets scratches from visitors at the Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine, Fla., March 14, 2025. (AP)
A capybara gets scratches from visitors at the Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine, Fla., March 14, 2025. (AP)
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At Florida’s Capybara Cafe, Patrons Hang out with the ‘It’ Animals of the Moment — Furry Rodents

A capybara gets scratches from visitors at the Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine, Fla., March 14, 2025. (AP)
A capybara gets scratches from visitors at the Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine, Fla., March 14, 2025. (AP)

Animal lovers now have a place to hang out with the "it" animals of the moment — big furry rodents.

In the back of a real estate office building in what is known as America's oldest city, capybaras are crawling into visitors' laps, munching on corn on the cob and hunting for scratches from humans at The Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine, Florida.

"You give them lots of scratches and love," said Stephanie Angel, who opened The Capybara Cafe late last year. "A lot of times they’ll climb on your lap because they’re very used to people, and if you’re really good at giving scratches, they’ll actually fall over. So that’s always our goal to get them so comfortable that they fall over."

Since opening its doors in October in downtown St. Augustine, near the Flagler College campus, hundreds of animal lovers have visited the site to give the capybaras head scratches. Reservations are booked several months in advance by patrons like Leah Macri, who recently visited the northeast Florida location from Orlando with her daughter.

"Their fur kind of feels like straw a bit," Macri said.

After entering a reception area with couches and an open pen of baby chicks, visitors are escorted into a smaller room in groups of a half dozen or so people. Blankets are placed over their laps, and three capybaras are brought into the room. Other animals like a skunk, wallaby and armadillo are also introduced into the room, and they crawl among the humans and into their laps. The cost is $49 per person for a half-hour encounter, and $99 for an hour-long encounter that involves the other animals.

Even though she had come for the capybaras, Macri enjoyed holding the armadillo the most.

"He was the cuddly, like the best. He was just the softest," she said. "He was just very sweet."

The capybara — a semi-aquatic South American relative of the guinea pig — is the latest in a long line of "it" animals to get the star treatment in the United States. During last year's holiday shopping season, shoppers could find capybara slippers, purses, robes and bath bombs. Axolotls, owls, hedgehogs, foxes and sloths also had recent turns in the spotlight.

The web-footed capybaras can grow to more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and weigh well north of 100 pounds (45 kilograms).

Several zoos and wildlife parks across the US offer encounters with capybaras, but Angel said none of them provide the intimacy with the animals that visitors get at the Capybara Cafe.

Angel said she plans to open another capybara cafe across the state in St. Petersburg, Florida, soon. The St. Augustine location doesn't sell coffee or hot food, like a cafe implied in its name, but it does sell capybara-themed T-shirts, coffee mugs and stuffed animals.

The cafe was created to financially support the Hastings, Florida-based nonprofit Noah's Ark Sanctuary Inc., an animal refuge, Angel said.

Chris Cooper, who visited the Capybara Cafe with his wife, was surprised at how rough and coarse the capybaras' hair was.

"And I wasn't expecting how affectionate they were," said Cooper, who drove up 157 miles (253 kilometers) from Weeki Wachee to see the critters. "They enjoyed the hands-on rubs."