Video length: 03:30 VIDEO Artificial Intelligence Dubai AI leaders call for global regulations Digital economy leaders in the UAE called for the global unification of artificial intelligence regulations at the launch of DMCC’s AI Centre last week. Dubai issued a universal blueprint for AI earlier this year, but a unified framework governing the growing AI technology sector is still lacking. “How can you disregard the artificial intelligence sector […] September 18, 2024
Tech UAE’s MGX joins $30bn AI infrastructure initiative UAE technology investment company MGX is part of a new $30 billion initiative, which will invest in building data centres and energy infrastructure. Other members of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) are US-based BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Microsoft. The proceeds, which will be raised through private equity capital, may reach up to […] September 18, 2024
Tech UAE’s G42 and Microsoft aim for ‘responsible’ AI goals UAE artificial intelligence (AI) company G42 and US tech giant Microsoft will open two centres in Abu Dhabi to advance work on “responsible” AI practices. The first centre will see academic researchers and AI practitioners from the private sector develop, document and share emerging “responsible” AI best practices in the Middle East and the Global […] September 18, 2024
Retail Saudi retail in tech race to lock in consumer loyalty Saudi and Gulf retailers are running to catch up when it comes to deploying sophisticated tools being used in other markets to develop consumer loyalty, creating an opening for innovative companies, according to analysts. “The Middle East is a bit behind the curve,” said Premal Patel, managing director of Catalina UK, a retail consultancy. “Technology […] September 17, 2024
Tech Shortage of IT specialists slows Turkish business growth A shortage of trained IT specialists is slowing Turkish companies’ growth and their development of artificial intelligence applications, according to a new report. The report, issued by Turkey’s state statistics agency Turkstat, found some sectors had a strong uptake of ecommerce sales and services. Almost half of all accommodation and food service providers took advantage […] September 17, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Aramco partners with US startup Groq for AI data centre Saudi Aramco’s digital arm is partnering with US semiconductor startup Groq to build the world’s largest artificial intelligence inferencing data centre. Unlike regular data centres, which handle a range of computing tasks, an AI inferencing data centre is designed specifically to run AI models that make rapid predictions or decisions. The facility will use Groq’s […] September 16, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabia anticipates US easing Nvidia chip ban Saudi Arabia is welcoming reports that the US government is considering lifting export restrictions on Nvidia chips to the kingdom, which maintains close trade ties with US rival China. Asked at an artificial intelligence (AI) forum in Riyadh if he would be content to see exports without limits, minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar […] September 16, 2024
Video length: 05:07 VIDEO Gaming Saudi Arabia plays the long game in a high-stakes market Saudi Arabia has so far channeled $38 billion into the esports sector through its Public Investment Fund subsidiary Savvy Games Group. This includes high-profile acquisitions such as the $4.9 billion purchase of the Monopoly Go developer Scopely and the $1.5 billion buyout of ESL FaceIt Group, one of the world’s largest esports companies. Critics have […] September 13, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Aramco to buy AI chips from Abu Dhabi fund-backed Cerebras Saudi Aramco is to buy advanced semiconductor chips from Cerebras Systems, the Abu Dhabi fund-backed chipmaker aiming to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the AI arena, as it seeks to boost artificial intelligence in the kingdom. The state-owned energy giant will use Cerebras’ CS-3 chips to build and deploy large language models (LLMs) – computer models […] September 13, 2024
Aviation AI could help with pilot shortage, says Emirates COO Artificial intelligence could allow for planes to fly with just one pilot, an Emirates airline executive has said. This would also help ease the Middle East’s pilot shortage and change how the aviation industry operates. Adel Ahmed Al Redha, chief operating officer of Emirates airline, told AGBI that aircraft operations “might go to maybe one […] September 12, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Top Arabic chatbot title claimed by Saudi Arabia’s updated Allam Saudi Arabia’s Arabic language artificial intelligence (AI) chat model, Allam, is now the largest Arabic-language chatbot in the world and will be available on prominent platforms by Microsoft and IBM, officials announced this week. Allam is a “large language model”, or LLM, that was first launched by a subsidiary of the Saudi Data and Artificial […] September 12, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia sets 12% target for AI’s contribution to GDP Saudi Arabia wants artificial intelligence to account for 12 percent of its GDP by 2030, the government has said. The Public Investment Fund will lead its efforts to build “a robust AI ecosystem”, the Saudi Data and AI Authority said in a report published this week. The State of AI paper said the country was […] September 11, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia pledges to ‘confront’ risks posed by AI Saudi Arabia is determined to be “at the forefront” of artificial intelligence funding and development, a senior official told an AI conference in Riyadh on Tuesday. However, Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, also said the kingdom was wary about the security implications of AI and would take […] September 10, 2024
Opinion Artificial Intelligence How I learned to stop worrying and love AI You fear what you do not know – like Excel spreadsheets and ChatGPT August 2, 2024
Video length: 04:26 VIDEO Finance AI is adding extra lustre to gold market Gold isn’t just for jewellery and bullion bars – it is also an important material in the tech sector. Andrew Naylor, head of the Middle East region at the World Gold Council, explains how the precious metal’s increasing use in artificial intelligence chips is raising demand – and prices. Watch the video to find out […] July 30, 2024
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Local talent vital for UAE to achieve AI ambitions The UAE is on a quest to lead the artificial intelligence sector but one of the stumbling blocks it is striving to address is the lack of local professionals coming into the industry. AI is expected to contribute $320 billion to the Mena region’s economy by 2030 – $96 billion of which will be attributed […] July 24, 2024
Opinion Artificial Intelligence AI and blockchain can support UAE carbon credit goals Carbon credits have become a critical instrument in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions July 22, 2024
Health Abu Dhabi launches AI tender to predict epidemic threats The Abu Dhabi Public Health Center has launched a tender for an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to predict epidemic threats. The aim is for the platform to use AI’s ability to process extensive and complex datasets at high speed as a way to analyse both local and international outbreak trends alongside national travel patterns to […] July 15, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Artificial Intelligence AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […] July 11, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Google to fund AI research at Saudi university Kaust Google is providing research grants into artificial intelligence at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust). The $100,000 grants will boost recognised Kaust researchers doing work in multilingual and multimodal machine learning, and the development of large language models. The academic staff will be associated with its new Centre of Excellence on Generative […] July 9, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi companies form AI cloud services partnership The Saudi IT company Al Moammar Information Systems, an investor in the US artificial intelligence (AI) research company OpenAI, has formed a partnership with the investment banker Saudi Fransi Capital to look into launching cloud services for the kingdom’s AI market. Al Moammar will “recommend an optimal business model considering demand, regulations, and technology, assess […] July 8, 2024
Tech Mubadala-backed GlobalFoundries buys new semiconductor tech Chipmaker GlobalFoundries, backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, has bought the rights to a new technology to boost power in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and data centres. It bought the gallium nitride (GaN) technology from semiconductor company Tagore Technology for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes a team of Tagore engineers with expertise in […] July 2, 2024
