The UAE has been leading the movement in the region for years
Saudi Arabia leads after 9 years in the value of the contribution
Forbes reported that, according to a report issued by the professional services company “PricewaterhouseCoopers” in 2018, the potential contribution of artificial intelligence to the global economy is estimated at 15.7 trillion dollars by 2030, while its contribution to the economies of the Middle East is estimated at 320 billion by the same year, amid A race towards investing in this opportunity and trying to emerge as a hub for artificial intelligence.
The report pointed out that the UAE will reap the largest gains from artificial intelligence in relative terms at the level of the region, with a contribution of approximately 14% of the country’s GDP in 2030 (96 billion dollars), while Saudi Arabia leads the list in terms of value, with 135.2 billion dollars in 2030 GDP (12.4 percent).
According to the report, the economies of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait could grow by about $45.9 billion (8.2 percent of each country’s GDP) by 2030, with the retail sector and the public sector, including education and healthcare, expected to see the biggest gains.
Forbes touched on the most prominent artificial intelligence strategies and initiatives in the Middle East, indicating that the UAE has been leading the artificial intelligence movement in the region for years, while now placing this movement at the heart of its national strategy.
According to a report issued by Microsoft, the UAE spent $2.1 billion in artificial intelligence investments between 2008 and 2018 and signed about 160 deals in the same sector, as these huge investments contributed to transforming the country into a thriving regional center for artificial intelligence.
In an effort to ensure that this strategy is passed on to future generations, the UAE also established the Mohamed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence in 2019.
The UAE expects that this strategy, especially its national program for artificial intelligence, will provide about $3 billion to the government, and boost the economy by $182 billion.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, launched in 2019, is considered one of the most ambitious AI programs in the region.
Saudi Arabia has signed a series of partnership agreements with international technology companies to advance artificial intelligence in the Kingdom.
Founded in 2010, the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, was formed to transform Qatar from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a knowledge-based one.
Qatar has also been one of the regional supporters of AI-enabled solutions in the fight against COVID-19, with the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) publishing the Rayan data processing platform, which allows healthcare professionals and researchers working against COVID-19, to collect and process large amounts of data. Virus-related information, according to the Oxford Business Group.
As for Bahrain, it took one of its most prominent steps towards applying artificial intelligence techniques late last year with the launch of the first artificial intelligence academy in Bahrain.
5 Gulf economies among the top 50 economies
The Oxford Insight Government Readiness Index for Artificial Intelligence 2020 report, which measures the ability of governments to apply artificial intelligence techniques to their public services, ranked 5 Arab economies among the top 50 economies around the world, with the UAE ranked first in the region and 16 globally, in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman are among the top 50 economies.
