AGI by 2050 tops Saudi R&D goals
Saudi Arabia unveils bold research targets for future economies at LEAP25
#Saudi #LEAP25 - Developing national Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by 2050, tops the list of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious R&D goals, according to a presentation made at LEAP25 by Acting Head of RDIA (Research, Development and Innovation Authority) Dr. Mohammed Alotaibi on Wednesday. AGI is one of three ‘moonshot' goals identified in the RDIA’s ‘Innovation Outlook in Economies of the Future”, a guiding framework to align, communicate and shape the Kingdom’s research agenda.
The first national R&D moonshot goal is to establish five cognitive cities across Saudi Arabia by 2040; the second is to develop a scalable, fault tolerant quantum computer by 2045; and the third moonshot goal is to develop aligned artificial general intelligence by 2050. Additionally, the RDIA launched strategic alliances in fields of autonomous logistics, quantum computing, and AI-driven healthcare, alongside major investments in semiconductor manufacturing.
SO WHAT? - Saudi Arabia isn’t shy to set bold goals. Its first national AI strategy announced in 2020 set a goal of positioning the Kingdom as a global leader and enabler for AI, and a ranking witin the top 15 countries worldwide. At the time, this seemed like an audacious goal indeed with the country lacking the talent, the AI and data infrastructure and the AI R&D programmes to back up that ambition. Today, Saudi Arabia ranks 14th overall in the latest Global AI Index from Tortoise Media and first in the world for it’s government AI strategy. A Saudi-developed AGI may seem the least likely of the moonshots announced today, but nobody is ruling it out!
Here is some more detail about Saudi Arabia’s R&D plans:
Today, the Acting Head of RDIA (Research, Development and Innovation Authority) Dr. Mohammed Alotaibi set out the ‘Innovation Outlook in Economies of the Future”, a guiding framework to align, communicate and shape the Saudi Arabia’s research agenda.
There are three ‘moonshot' goals identified in the RDIA’s guiding framework:
Cognitive cities by 2040: Saudi Arabia plans to build five AI-powered smart cities that will integrate automation, data-driven urban planning, and advanced infrastructure by 2040.
Quantum computing by 2045: The Kingdom aims to create a scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2045.
AGI by 2050: The RDIA targets the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), by 2050.
RDIA also launched two new alliances at LEAP to drive collaboration between public and private sectors:
The National Alliance for Autonomous Logistic Vehicles; and
The National Alliance for Quantum
It was also announced that Fakih Care Group is investing SAR 100 million ($27m) to establish an AI and data analytics centre of excellence for healthcare R&D.
Meanwhile, the National Semiconductor Hub (NSH) welcomed its first 10 chip design companies, primarily from Silicon Valley, now operating in Riyadh.
A new design and manufacturing centre is also due to open in Riyadh, in partnership with Ultrasense, will focus on next-gen interface chips used in automotive and smart technologies.
Lastly, a new initiative, in partnership with ACT, will localise the production of secure chip technology for banking and transport applications.