The second-ever Global AI Summit [ https://globalaisummit.org/ ] concluded 
today, affirming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's recognition of, and investment 
in, the rising importance of artificial intelligence (AI). The three-day global 
event gathered prominent leaders and experts in AI to discuss opportunities and 
limitations posed by the technology. Hosted by the Saudi Data and Artificial 
Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the Summit attracted more than 15,000 
participants, and 200+ speakers from over 90 countries.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1901005/SDAIA_Global_AI_Summit.jpg

"We are witnessing the exponential growth of AI and its potential benefits for 
society today and tomorrow," said H.E. Dr. Esam Alwagait, Director of the 
National Information Center in Saudi Arabia, said in the closing remarks. 
"Together, we can build a pioneering model that unlocks the value of data and 
AI that will propel knowledge-based economies, solve challenges and provide a 
brighter future for generations."

Highly esteemed business leaders and academic experts spoke at the Summit, 
including Amin Nasser, CEO of Aramco, Dr. Junaid Bajwa, Chief Medical Scientist 
of Microsoft Research, Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Kitty Hawk, and Dr. Jürgen 
Schmidhuber, Director of AI Initiative at KAUST.

While the Summit showcased the potential of AI, it also spurred more immediate 
action. On opening day, member states of the Digital Cooperation Organization 
finalized and signed the Riyadh AI Call for Action Declaration, outlining their 
long-term vision for harnessing AI to benefit people, communities, nations, and 
the world as a whole. The next day, Saudi Arabia announced it would join the 
World Bank's Digital Development Partnership, which helps bring AI technologies 
to developing countries.

Today, the Summit concluded by launching a new joint initiative between SDAIA 
and Google Cloud aimed at empowering women to occupy roles in AI and machine 
learning. The program will provide free training to 25,000 women over the 
course of five years with the goal of increasing the proportion of women 
working in the field.

In total, more than 40 partnerships and memorandum of understanding were signed 
at the Summit. These partnerships, together with the conclusion of the Summit, 
mark the Kingdom's steady progress towards its Vision 2030 [ 
https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/ ] goal.

This material is being distributed by Edelman on behalf of Veyron Company, Ltd. 
a representative for the Saudi Data Artificial Intelligence Agency 
(SDAIA). Additional information is available at 
the Department of Justice, Washington D.C. 


SOURCE: SDAIA