RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s government agencies have made significant progress in integrating new technologies, showing a 10 percent improvement from the previous year, according to an official report.
The Emerging Technology Adoption Readiness Index, which measures the progress of government entities in implementing new solutions, increased from 60.35 percent in 2023 to 70.70 percent in 2024. This improvement is accompanied by a rise in participating agencies, which grew from 13 last year to 35 in 2024, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The annual report published by the Digital Government Authority underscores the Kingdom’s enhanced capacity for adopting emerging technologies. This progress is a key element of Saudi Arabia’s broader transformation strategy, aimed at leveraging advanced systems to improve services for citizens, residents, and visitors.
This increase in the index highlights the Kingdom’s ongoing commitment to modernizing its digital infrastructure and aligns with its Vision 2030 objectives, emphasizing sustainable development and the advancement of its technological future.
The index helps organizations and policymakers understand their technological advancement and identify areas for growth and development — an essential component of Saudi Arabia’s objectives.
The report highlighted progress in adopting emerging technologies, with research capability reaching 72.04 percent and communication capability reaching 71.88 percent.
According to the report, the integration field achieved a score of 67.93 percent, while the proof capability field recorded 70.84 percent, reflecting advanced levels of development.
Drones have improved aerial photography and real estate imaging, boosting operational efficiency by 80 percent and significantly reducing time and effort.
Digital twinning has enabled precise asset inventory for 22 out of 36 industrial cities. Additionally, Ameen, the digital human assistant, now serves over 36,000 customers monthly.
Augmented and virtual reality technologies have further improved digital accessibility for individuals with special needs, expanding their access to digital services.
The Anaam Shain app has streamlined the secure management of livestock data across the Kingdom, while firefighting robots have reduced physical losses by up to 50 percent.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia topped the Government Strategy Index for Artificial Intelligence, as ranked by Tortoise Intelligence, which evaluates over 60 countries.
The country achieved a perfect score of 100 percent on the index criteria, including having a dedicated national AI strategy, a specialized government body for cognitive computing, allocated funding for artificial intelligence, and established and monitored national intelligence system targets.
