RIYADH: The president of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, affirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment, under the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 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.
The remarks came during his separate meetings with the 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 Karsten Wildberger, on the sidelines of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva.
The meetings were attended by the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The officials discussed strengthening international cooperation in data and AI, enhancing governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and promoting their ethical and responsible adoption to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals while addressing future risks facing societies and labor markets.
Al-Ghamdi highlighted the Kingdom’s initiatives to advance AI governance and ethics, most notably the establishment of the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics in Riyadh under the auspices of UNESCO.
He also underscored 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.
At the conclusion of the meetings, Al-Ghamdi invited the officials to participate in the fourth Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, to be held in Riyadh from Sept. 14 to 17 as part of the Kingdom’s Year of Artificial Intelligence.
Earlier during his Geneva visit, Al-Ghamdi also met UNESCO Director General Khaled El-Enany. The two reviewed strategic cooperation between the Kingdom and UNESCO on AI and discussed ways to strengthen international partnerships in developing ethical AI policies.
