Altman returns to UAE; Al Bannai appointed presidential advisor
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News! And Eid Mubarak!
It’s a very short newsletter due to the the Eid Al Fitr holidays across the Middle East and North Africa this week!
Two of the biggest stories in this week’s newsletter are OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s low profile visit to the UAE and the appointment of H.E. Faisal Al Bannai as advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs.
The story grabbing international headlines this week is the scaling-down of plans for NEOM’s The Line. This was first covered by Bloomberg, but the story is now being used by other Western media for ‘Saudi-bashing’. For sure, it is a big departure from the original plans, with plenty of opportunities for “I told you so” commentary. However, an awful lot has happened in the Kingdom over the past 6 years and there are many other Saudi projects that seem likely to bring better returns in the shorter term, including other projects under development at NEOM. So, no surprise really.
FYI there will be no Middle East AI News LIVE show today due to the Eid holidays! The next live show will be Thursday April 18th, I hope!
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
Altman returns to UAE for high-level meetings
#UAE #OpenAI - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited the UAE this week for talks on investment and global collaboration, according to Bloomberg. Quoting anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported that the OpenAI CEO held meetings with government officials and industry leaders "to discuss how the private sector can work with countries to support costly, large-scale infrastructure for AI". (LinkedIn)
AI Policy
Al Bannai appointed tech advisor to UAE president
#UAE #government - His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai has been named as advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, with the rank of Minister. Al Bannai is Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC)l, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's advanced defence technology group EDGE and Chairman of the ATRC’s new AI company AI71. (LinkedIn)
Smart Cities
Saudis scale back ambition for $1.5 trillion desert project
#Saudi #TheLine - Saudi Arabia has scaled back its medium-term ambitions for the desert development of Neom, according to people familiar with the matter. The Line was expected to house 1.5 million by 2030, but the revised plans revise this target down to 300,000. (Bloomberg)
Abu Dhabi ranks 10th in smart cities index
#Saudi #UAE #smartcities - Abu Dhabi ranks 10th in the Smart City Index 2024 compiled by Switzerland's International Institute for Management Development (IMD), while Riyadh rose 25 places to the 25th city in the index. (The National) (SPA)
R&D
Aramco to open two innovation labs in Riyadh
#Saudi #R&D - Saudi Aramco is expanding its Saudi Accelerated Innovation Laboratory (SAIL) with two new centres in Riyadh to provide digital solutions for government sectors and specialize in digital product manufacturing. The new centres are set to begin operations by the end of 2025 and mid-2026. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Aramco and GCT to accelerate 5G development
#Saudi #5G - Aramco has signed an MoU with GCT Semiconductor, a leading designer and supplier of advanced 5G and 4G semiconductor solutions, setting the stage for a strategic collaboration that could further develop the 4G/5G ecosystem in Saudi Arabia for both mission-critical and public safety networks. (BusinessWire)