Accelerating Towards Tomorrow: Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Push Towards AI Dominance in a Dynamic Global Landscape
‘To the Future’: Saudi Arabia Spends Big to Become an A.I. Superpower More than 200,000 people converged on the Leap tech conference in the desert outside Riyadh in March.Credit...Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times Introduction: Saudi Arabia is making significant strides to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), investing billions to develop its AI capabilities. With ambitious initiatives like NEOM, the kingdom aims to leverage AI to transform various sectors and diversify its economy beyond oil. The Kingdom's AI Ambitions: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has identified AI as a key component of the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan. The plan seeks to reduce the country's dependence on oil revenue and propel it towards a knowledge-based economy. The government has committed substantial resources, with investments totaling $20 billion over the next decade, to support AI research and development. Strategic Partnerships and Inv