Saudi Arabia, UAE enter global AI talent top 20
Gulf states rise in global AI talent density rankings
#SaudiArabia #UAE #talent - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have secured positions among the world's top 20 nations for AI talent density, surpassing Italy and Russia according to the latest Global AI Competitiveness Index from Beijing-based International Finance Forum and AI research firm Deep Knowledge Group. Ranked 19th globally Saudi Arabia now holds 0.4% of global AI talent, whilst in 16th place, the UAE accounts for 0.7% of global AI talent. The report uses an estimate of 3 million people as the total global AI talent pool.
Meanwhile in the same report, Saudi Arabia research university KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) entered the top 150 universities globally for AI talent output. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia targets $20 billion in AI investments and 200,000 high-tech jobs by 2030, offering top scientists median salaries of $420,000 tax-free.
SO WHAT? - The AI talent density rankings offer further evidence of Saudi Arabia and the UAE success in transforming their economies into AI powerhouses via strategic investment and forward-looking policy-making. Both countries not only seek to attract the best and brightest global AI talent, but also dramatically increase their national AI talent pipelines, building capacity in AI via schools, universities, public AI training programmes, government sector training and executive education.
Here are some key facts about the IFF report:
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been ranked among the world's top 20 nations for AI talent density, surpassing Italy and Russia according to the latest Global AI Competitiveness Index from International Finance Forum and AI research firm Deep Knowledge Group.
International Finance Forum is a The Beijing-based organisation founded by G20 countries and international organisations including the United Nations and World Bank.
The IFF report also highlighted that KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) achieved the highest Middle East ranking in the top 150 universities globally for AI talent production.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both implemented comprehensive national AI strategies addressing every level of academia, business, government and society, in efforts to become global leaders in AI.
Both Gulf countries pay well for top tier AI talent, with the Kingdom offering globally competitive compensation package: median annual salaries can reach $420,000 for top AI scientists.
Aside from KAUST in Saudi Arabia and the now famous Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the UAE, universities in both countries have significantly bolstered their AI, data science, robotics and related computational science courses in recent years.
In addition to college and university courses, the two countries have launched a variety of digital AI and coding platforms supporting training across government sectors, education and the general public. Saudi Arabia’s recently launched public AI training initiative SAMAI has already trained 420,000 Saudi citizens this year.
ZOOM OUT - Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been climbing the rankings in a variety of AI sector reports over the past few years. Saudi Arabia maintained its first place globally for Government Strategy in Tortoise Media's Global AI Index 2024 whilst jumping from 31st to 14th overall. The UAE rose eight places to 20th overall, with dramatic improvements in research (34th to 12th) and development (39th to 9th). Both nations demonstrate that strategic government investment and focused AI policies can rapidly elevate countries into global AI leadership, challenging traditional technology powerhouses through targeted talent acquisition and infrastructure development.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
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