RIYADH: Artificial intelligence continues to prove a valuable and unique long-term asset in Saudi Arabia's digital transformation, as highlighted by the Ministry of Interior's Abshar Conference.
After highlighting the success of Twiq Academy's Twiq Hackathon on the first day of the conference, the second day of the Abshar conference was a forum for in-depth conversations about Saudi Arabia's thriving AI industry. A fundamental discussion was based on the role of the Home Office in leveraging digital transformation, and the panel discussion gave voice to training academies, technology start-ups and AI in the media.
The panel “Investing in Government Technology: Helping AI Startups Redefine Government Services” highlighted the bridge of cooperation between government agencies and AI startups on investment, infrastructure, and talent.
Mohamed El Abouly, CEO of Signit, a Saudi Arabian technology company, elaborated on the intersection between infrastructure readiness and transformation.
“Saudi Arabia ranks among the world's top countries in terms of government technology, and on top of that, we have a well-developed government infrastructure…Saudis are a digital-first people, and we have the local talent to make it happen,” he said.
That readiness to promote progress at the people level cannot be achieved without the power of education. Academies and educational institutions are the powerhouse of the Saudi AI industry and are continually evolving to provide tools and technical skills to aspiring talent.
In the panel “Technical Academy: Engine of Change,” Renad Alkhathiri, general manager of AI at Metaverse Tuwaiq Academy, shared his insights on how to turn technology users into technology developers.
“The first approach to our learning methodology is instruction…the second is to provide our students with the latest equipment and the latest technology…the third is practical training. So all the programs and bootcamps that we offer are 90% practical training and they (students) practice the product from day one,” he said.
In Saudi Arabia, investments in the education sector and the AI industry are aligned, and the media has a role to play in progressively showcasing the results of this effort. The media industry, which builds on Saudi achievements at home and abroad, is also leveraging AI tools. Avneesh Prakash, CEO of Camb.AI, a company focused on AI localization and translation tools, provided insights into the world of AI and media at the Absher Conference.
Prakash took to the stage to talk with Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Ngari about AI in media as a cornerstone of Saudi technology evolution.
“Saudi Arabia's story needs to be told to the world in a language the world understands,” he said.
His statement is supported by his company's recent partnership with Arab News, which allows readers to choose from over 50 languages.
Camb.AI's tools know no limits as they extend their capabilities from sports to animation to movies, creating shared experiences for consuming art and entertainment in any language.
Prakash elaborated on how AI is reshaping media in Saudi Arabia, saying, “AI will help create speed, scale, and access.”
He reiterated that the company aims to preserve emotion and nuance in human storytelling.
The second day of the Abshar conference proved that AI's ability to thread the threads between Saudi government, education, and media will not only make the industry versatile, but unify it in progress and transformation.
