The Era of AI has arrived in Saudi...

This article is published in preview to a meetup I was asked to moderate covering the state of AI in Saudi and organized by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) as part of the May 2020 "Hope Hackathon" initiative.

First, what is AI?

Simply said, it is one of the enablers of the Digital Transformation we are witnessing all around us, both globally and in the GCC. If Cloud computing represents the infrastructure and big data the raw material, AI effectively is what's driving change and delivering benefits.

But first, let's agree on what is AI. A broader definition puts it as 'a collective term for computer systems that can sense their environment, think, learn, and take action in response to what they’re sensing and their objectives.?Also important to note is the 3 forms of AI being characterized by different levels of self-adaptation and human involvement:

1. Assisted Intelligence, considered a basic level of AI and is primarily used as a means of automating simple processes and tasks. It works with clearly defined inputs and outputs and requires constant human intervention.?Examples already existing are car driving safety systems, in which control of speed and activation of brakes is done automatically if/when necessary.
2. Augmented Intelligence, considered as the middle stage of AI, has become its most common form. It helps people and organizations make better decisions with a broad spectrum of underlying sub-categories such as Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Image Recognition (IR) and Neuronal Networks (NN). The key difference is that it can propose new solutions, by combining existing information, not just identify patterns and apply predetermined solutions. Examples of this form of AI include various applications that address a broad range of use cases covering Predictive Maintenance, Fraud Detection, Energy Management, Inventory Optimization, and many more...
3. Autonomous intelligence is the most advanced state of AI and is about automating decision making processes with no human intervention. It is just starting to become a reality although, and it’s important to note, organizations are far from ready to let a computer fully take over. A good example of this form of AI are driverless cars …

Second, what is the state of adoption of AI in Business today?

This is well articulated in a report recently published by the MIT Technology Review (The Global AI Agenda, a global survey conducted in Feb 2020 of +1,000 executives, 20% of which in MENA). Key findings include:

• AI is no longer the preserve of big tech and digital platform players of this world. From manufacturing to energy, health care to government, organizations from different industries, sectors and sizes are actively experimenting with a suite of AI solutions across numerous use cases.
• 87% of organizations are deploying AI in 2019, up from 72% in 2018. This is encouraging, as companies across the board are increasingly developing ambitious use cases, but a lot remains unknown about AI’s real impact, as not all companies are yet bearing all fruits of their investments.
• AI deployment is widespread but will take time to scale, as no more than 10% to 30% of the respondent's company business processes across the next 3 years are to be impacted by AI, exercising an important, though not dominant influence in their operations.
• Change management and data access are hindering scaling of AI. Taking AI use cases beyond pilot stage is far from straightforward. Firms struggle most with adjusting business processes and dealing with resistance to change as well as integrating unstructured data and interfacing with open-data platforms.
• Currently nascent, data sharing can boost the impact of AI. Interestingly, the majority of firms surveyed are willing to share internal data externally to help develop new AI-enabled efficiencies, products, or value chains, but are still cautious, as more clarity is needed in privacy regulation and industry standards before data sharing takes root.
• Early AI adopters are benefiting most, but went through a steep learning curve. Firms with the longest experience of using AI are learning by trial and error and ultimately benefiting, with early adopters saying ROI often exceeded expectations.

Saudi, leading the way among global data-driven economies?

AI is already a big game changer in the global economy and is becoming increasingly central to the Saudi Economy. Saudi’s Vision 2030 and National Transformation Program 2020 have identified Digital Transformation as a key goal to activate economic sectors and support industries, with more than 70% of the varying strategic goals in the reform plan being closely related to AI and/or Data.

The Kingdom ambitions to become a leader among global data-driven economies. In August 2019, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) was launched to oversee the country’s AI and data strategy. Over its first year of existence, the Authority has set up a national data bank by consolidating up to 30% of existing government datasets. It is planning to build a national cloud by merging 83 existing data centers to fully utilize AI-analyzed data to generate meaningful savings and revenue for the government and national economy.?The value of the Saudi data and AI economy is currently estimated by SDAIA at $4-5 billion, and expected to raise to $133 billion by 2030 and generate up to 12.4% of the country's GDP.

In addition to setting up an AI authority, the Kingdom will be organizing in 14-15 September 2020 'The Global AI Summit', a global platform for dialogue, bringing together 4,000 stakeholders from all horizons to shape the future of AI.

I look forward to seeing many of you there, as we discuss how current and future generations can benefit from an AI that is inclusive, equitable, safe and positively impact socioeconomic development, globally as well as in our region, the Middle East.