Experts Collaborate to Advance AI Applications for Arabic Language

The third annual conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language included intensive sessions focused on new ideas to enrich linguistic data in a digital world (King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language)
The third annual conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language included intensive sessions focused on new ideas to enrich linguistic data in a digital world (King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language)
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Experts Collaborate to Advance AI Applications for Arabic Language

The third annual conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language included intensive sessions focused on new ideas to enrich linguistic data in a digital world (King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language)
The third annual conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language included intensive sessions focused on new ideas to enrich linguistic data in a digital world (King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language)

International experts from 22 countries have met in Riyadh for two days to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the Arabic language's role globally and regionally.

The conference highlighted Arabic as an important language in various scientific and humanitarian fields.

The third annual conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language included intensive sessions focused on new ideas to enrich linguistic data in a digital world.

Several digital initiatives were launched under the theme “Computational Linguistics and Enrichment of Linguistic Data.”

Around 40 researchers from universities and organizations worldwide attended the event, providing a platform for sharing expertise and advancing knowledge in computational linguistics.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Washmi, Secretary-General of the Academy, stated that languages that endure are those that adapt to written forms. He stressed that future languages must embrace technology and AI to thrive.

In his opening remarks, Al-Washmi described the conference as a valuable opportunity for collaboration among experts. He emphasized the importance of sharing ideas that can lead to a brighter future for the Arabic language in the digital age.

The conference aims to foster cooperation between linguists and AI specialists to close knowledge gaps and enhance Arabic linguistic data for better AI models.



Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
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Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)

Bull sharks are lingering off Sydney's beaches for longer periods each year as oceans warm, researchers said Friday, predicting they may one day stay all year.

The predators are migratory, swimming north in winter when Sydney's long-term ocean temperatures dip below 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) to bask in the balmier waters off Queensland.

A team of scientists looked at 15 years of acoustic tracking of 92 tagged migratory sharks in an area including Bondi Beach and Sydney Harbour.

Records show the sharks now spend an average of 15 days longer off Sydney's coast in summer than they did in 2009, said James Cook University researcher Nicolas Lubitz.

"If they're staying longer, it means that people and prey animals have a longer window of overlap with them."

Shark attacks are rare in ocean-loving Australia, and most serious bites are from three species: bull sharks, great whites, and tiger sharks, according to a national database.

There have been more than 1,200 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which over 250 resulted in death.

Researchers found an average warming of 0.57C in Bondi for the October-May period between 2006 and 2024, said the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of The Total Environment.

Over a longer period, remotely sensed summer sea-surface temperatures in the area rose an average 0.67C between 1982 and 2024, they said.

"If this trend persists, which it likely will, it just means that these animals are going to spend more and more time towards their seasonal distributional limit, which currently is southern and central New South Wales," Lubitz said.

"So it could be that a few decades from now, maybe bull sharks are present year-round in waters off Sydney," he added.

"While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means that people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence in coastal waters off Sydney."

Climate change could also change breeding patterns, Lubitz said, with early evidence indicating juvenile sharks were appearing in rivers further south.

There was some evidence as well that summer habitats for great whites, which prefer colder waters, were decreasing in northern New South Wales and Queensland, he said.

Tagged sharks trigger an alarm when they swim within range of a network of receivers dotted around parts of the Australian coast, giving people real-time warnings on a mobile app of their presence at key locations.