Riyadh, September 4, 2023, The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has made significant progress in the data and AI fields in a short period of time. The Kingdom has gone past even developed nations in terms of global AI metrics thanks to a number of initiatives and projects. The Kingdom achieved the highest global ranking for its AI government strategy in the Global AI Index 2023. The Stanford University International Index for Artificial Intelligence 2023 also placed it second globally in terms of social awareness of artificial intelligence. In the IMD Smart Cities Index 2023, Riyadh also improved significantly, climbing to the 30th spot globally and third in the Arab world, demonstrating its lofty national objectives. The Saudi leadership's steadfast support and understanding of the revolutionary potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, have enabled these accomplishments. They responded by directing the necessary authorities to make use of this technological advancement in order to achieve the objectives stated in the Kingdom's Vision 2030. In 2019, a Royal Order established the "SDAIA" with HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, as its chairman, formalizing this promise. The "SDAIA" started an ambitious plan to enhance its duties in the fields of data and artificial intelligence under this strategic direction. SDAIA made great advancements and set impressive benchmarks in digital projects in just four years. Among these projects was the hosting of 220 government data centers on the "DEEM" cloud platform, which generated SAR5 billion in potential savings and income.
The Estishraf platform for decision support allowed "SDAIA" to save more than SR50 billion in money. Furthermore, by providing more than 240 electronic services, the Tawakkalna application garnered approximately 17.9 million active users. Every day, the Nafath platform handles 1.8 million requests for digital identity verification. Through the Shomoos platform, SDAIA additionally tallied 279 million administrative transactions, creating a uniform database on customer operations with private sector businesses for government beneficiaries.
Surprisingly, SDAIA received worldwide certifications in a flash, including four from the ICMG, a prestigious organization with a focus on technological infrastructure. These qualifications included organizational excellence with a customer-centric focus, corporate governance, digital transformation, and governance of the digital structure.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's global obstacles, "SDAIA" galvanized its personnel, notably Saudi nationals, to offer creative answers via the Tawakkalna application. They then introduced Tawakkalna Services, which provides products and services in 77 nations and seven different languages. For its institutional resiliency and creative reactions to the epidemic, the Tawakkalna system won the United Nations Public Service Award 2022, demonstrating the Kingdom's leadership in technology and the digital sphere.
SDAIA continued after that. 2020 saw the remote organization of a world conference on artificial intelligence that brought together decision-makers, professionals, and experts from diverse nations. The summit that took place in person in 2022 and featured more than 200 international speakers and more than 50,000 virtual attendees from more than 100 nations was made possible in part by this event.
The Brouk system, which SDAIA developed, was crucial in enabling the G20 leaders' summit meetings that the Kingdom will hold in 2020 by guaranteeing the highest level of security and dependability.
In order to support Saudi Vision 2030's objectives, SDAIA has continued its successful path by utilizing data and AI technologies, directly influencing 66 of the vision's 96 objectives. The Kingdom's standing in data- and AI-based economies has improved thanks to SDAIA's leadership in the national approach to these fields. It is stepping up efforts to raise Saudi Arabia's position in international data and AI indices.
The "SADA" dataset, the "Your Voice" project, the "Improving the Quality of Historical Films" project, the "Petroleum Products Control" project, the AI platform, and the "Ehsan" platform are just a few of the notable digital initiatives and projects that SDAIA is home to. Over 4.4 billion Saudi Riyals worth of donations have been made to the "Ehsan" platform, helping over 4.4 million people.
Every year during the Hajj season, SDAIA exhibits its technological expertise by putting in place an integrated system that was created with help from the Ministry of Interior and using AI and local algorithms. This mechanism provides for the security and comfort of pilgrims. It contains tools like "Sawaher" and "Baseer" that are made to efficiently control crowds in the Grand Holy Mosque.
The "Makkah Road Initiative," which offers integrated technology services and reception facilities for pilgrims through 15 entry points around the Kingdom, is another area where SDAIA is working. Additionally, SDAIA works with Siemens Advanta and the Ministry of Energy to develop AI solutions for the energy industry that are intended to improve energy efficiency and include renewable energy sources.
SDAIA continues to be committed to assisting various government sectors in a variety of developmental domains as the nation's leading authority on all things involving data and AI. These initiatives demonstrate SDAIA's dedication to strengthening Saudi Arabia's status as a pioneer in data and AI technology, which is consistent with the lofty objectives of
Goal 2030.
The National Strategy for Data and AI in the Field of Health is being developed by the Center of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence for the Health Sector, which SDAIA has formed in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
Successful scientific endeavors have resulted from this connection, including the "Diabetic Retinopathy Examination" initiative in association with King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital.
Together with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, it also launched the "Smart Planet" program and the "Artificial Intelligence Center in Environment, Water, and Agriculture," the first specialized center in the Kingdom and the Middle East devoted to sustainability solutions and applications. By utilizing the promise of AI technologies, these initiatives hope to create novel solutions.
Through a number of programs and initiatives, SDAIA has also significantly contributed to the improvement of national skills. One of them is the "SDAIA Academy," which aims to advance national expertise in the data and AI domains while also fostering a workforce ready to lead the employment market. These initiatives cover a range of exciting initiatives carried out in collaboration with top regional, national, and international organizations with expertise in data and artificial intelligence.
In this regard, the SDAIA-KAUST Center of Excellence in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence has been formed in collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Additionally, the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and the SDAIA Joint Research Center for Artificial Intelligence have been formed. These initiatives seek to aid in the creation of a Saudi generation that is capable of using these technologies with ease and encouraging creativity in this modern area of knowledge.
In the area of entrepreneurs, SDAIA has started the "ROWAD Package" program in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) and Elm Company. The project assists startups, businesses, and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom while also simplifying the electronic integration of customer data from individuals with the databases of the National Information Center.
In partnership with Google Cloud, SDAIA has introduced the "Elevate" program to help women everywhere get ready for the AI employment market. In its initial stage, this ground-breaking program—the first of its type anywhere in the world—has enrolled 1,000 women from 28 different nations for training in the domains of data and artificial intelligence. With plans to teach more than 25,000 women over the next five years, the goal is to enable women all over the world to take on new roles in artificial intelligence and machine learning in developing markets.
As part of SDAIA's efforts to increase awareness, it has produced a number of publications and research in Arabic to inform society about data, artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, and huge language models. These technologies have grown to be essential components in today's high-tech environment.
