RIYADH: Artificial Intelligence continues to prove itself a valuable, unique long-term asset in Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation, underscored by the Ministry of Interior’s Absher Conference.
After unveiling the success of Tuwaiq Academy’s Tuwaiq Hackathon on the conference’s first day, the second day of the Absher Conference was a platform for in-depth dialogue on the Kingdom’s prospering AI industry. With fundamental discussion building upon the Ministry of Interior’s role in leveraging digital transformation, panel conversations gave voice to training academies, tech startups, and AI in media.
During the panel “Investing in Govtech: Empowering AI Startups to Redefine Government Services,” the bridge of collaboration between government entities and AI start-ups shed light on investments, infrastructure, and talent.
Mohamed El-Abbouri, CEO of Signit, a Saudi technology company, elaborated on the intersection between infrastructure readiness and transformation.
“Saudi ranks as one of the top countries globally when it comes to government technology. In addition to that is the government’s infrastructure readiness … Saudi citizens are digital-first people, so we have the local talent to deliver on that,” he said.
That readiness, which powers people-level progress, does not come without the force of education. Academies and educational institutions are powerhouses of the Kingdom’s AI industry, continually evolving to equip aspiring talent with the tools and technical skills.
During the panel “Technical Academies: Engines of Transformation,” Renad Alkhathiri, general manager of AI at Metaverse Tuwaiq Academy, shared insight on how they turn technology users into technology developers.
“The first approach to the learning methodology is mentorship … the second is that we provide the students with the latest equipment and latest technologies … the third one is practical training — so all the programs and bootcamps that we are offering are 90 percent practical training, they (the students) practice their product from day one,” she said.
As the educational sphere pairs with the investment going into the AI industry in the Kingdom, media takes the role of showcasing the results of this labor step by step. The media industry, the sector that platforms the Kingdom’s achievements both locally and internationally, is also leveraging AI tools. Avneesh Prakash, CEO of Camb.AI, a company focused on AI localization and translation tools, offered insight into the world of AI and media at the Absher Conference.
Prakash took to the stage to speak with Noor Nugali, deputy editor-in-chief at Arab News, on AI in media as a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s technological evolution.
“The Saudi stories need to go to the world in a language that the world understands,” he said.
His statement is backed by his company’s recent partnership with Arab News, which allows readers to choose from over 50 languages.
Camb.AI’s tool is without bounds as it extends its abilities from sports to animations to film, creating shared experiences of consuming art and entertainment in all languages.
Prakash elaborated on the way AI is reshaping media in the Kingdom, stating: “AI will help with speed, scale, and creating the access.”
He reiterated that the company aims to preserve the emotion and nuance in human storytelling.
The second day of the Absher Conference has proven that AI’s ability to sew a thread through government, education, and media in the Kingdom makes the industry not only versatile, but also unifying in progress and transformation.
