Saudi ranks 22nd in Global AI Index; UAE ranks 16th in Open Data report
Good morning,
Here’s this week’s Middle East AI News!
It's been a good month for rankings so far, with Saudi Arabia ranking 22nd globally in the Global AI Index by Tortoise Media (moving up 7 places) and the UAE ranking 16th in Open Data Watch's Open Data Inventory (ODIN) Report 2020/21. Both are significant because of the pace of change driven by the two countries in data and AI policy and implementation.
Meanwhile, Israel's first ever delegation attended GITEX in Dubai in Dubai this week. As a former organiser of GITEX - despite the wealth of Israeli tech talent and innovation - I never even considered that Israeli companies would one day be allowed to visit the show. It's a huge milestone.
Other than that, there's plenty of cooperation and collaboration going on. Scroll down for lots more new from around the region!
Stay safe & have a great weekend!
/Carrington
AI Rankings
Saudi Arabia ranks first in Arab world, 22nd globally in Global AI Index — saudigazette.com.sa
#Saudi #UAE #GlobalAIIndex - Saudi Arabia ranked first across the Arab world and 22nd globally in the Global AI Index by Tortoise Media. Overall, Saudi moved up 7 places compared to last year's 29th rank, while the UAE dropped 9 places to 36th place (2nd in the region). (Saudi Gazette)
Tortoise Media ranks Egypt 58th globally in AI technology — www.egyptindependent.com
#Egypt #Saudi #UAE #GlobalAIIndex - Tortoise Media's Global AI Index has ranked Egypt 58th, effectively last among the six Arab countries ranked. (Egypt Independent)
Smart Cities
RTA uses artificial intelligence to monitor customers compliance with wearing masks — www.mediaoffice.ae
#UAE #surveillance - The smart cameras installed to measure the happiness of visitors at customers happiness centres of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have been fitted with new technology to monitor the compliance of those visitors with the wearing of face masks. The step is part of RTA’s precautionary measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. (Dubai Media Office)
Abu Dhabi radars to catch seat belt violations, phone use among drivers — www.khaleejtimes.com
#UAE #roadsafety - Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) has developed a new AI-powered vehicle monitoring model in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police. The Vehicular Attention and Safety Tracker (VAST) aims to reduce road accidents and enhancing traffic safety by detecting seat belt and mobile phone usage violations. (Khaleej Times)
AI Policy
UAE now ranks 16th globally in Open Data Inventory Report — wam.ae
#UAE #OpenData - The UAE ranked 16th globally out of 187 countries in Open Data Watch's Open Data Inventory (ODIN) Report 2020/21, with an overall score of 75. Open data promotes transparency, efficiency, economic value, public services improvement, plus innovation in AI applications. (Emirates News Agency)
Egypt’s national AI council discusses using technology in agriculture, irrigation — dailynewsegypt.com
#Egypt #AIstrategy - Egypt’s National Council for Artificial Intelligence held its second meeting, chaired by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, via video conference earlier this week. (Daily News Egypt)
"AI essential to achieving Vision 2030" — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #Vision2030 - Majid Al-Shehry, Strategic Advisor at the Saudi Arabia Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), has reinforced the Kingdom’s “ambitious plans” during an AI session at the GITEX Technology Week on Sunday. (Arab News)
SDAIA mulls investment initiatives in early 2021, says official — www.argaam.com
#Saudi #investment - Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in cooperation with relevant government entities, is planning to launch a number of investment initiatives in early 2021, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported. (Argaam)
Healthcare
KAUST, Lean Business Services join hands to advance digital healthcare R&D — www.saudigazette.com.sa
#Saudi #healthcare - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) formalised its collaboration with Lean Business Services, the digital arm of the Saudi health sector, by signing a memorandum of understanding to continue R&D activities related to AI and data science towards developing a smart health ecosystem. (Saudi Gazette)
UAE’s Medcare wins “Best Use of Digital in Healthcare” — www.healthcareitnews.com
#UAE #chatbots - Medcare Hospitals, one of the UAE’s leading private healthcare providers took gold at the latest edition of the MENA Digital Awards for its conversational AI-powered agent. The AI chatbot was developed by Dubai-based Blue Logic Digital. (Healthcare IT News)
AI Diplomacy
UAE minister says joint ventures with Israel in AI sector are 'undeniable need' — www.timesofisrael.com
#Israel #UAE #AbrahamAccords - Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, who serves as the United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for artificial intelligence, hailed the collaboration between Israel and the UAE in that field as an “undeniable need” in a recent interview. (Times of Israel)
Egypt, Canada discuss cooperation in AI — www.egypttoday.com
#Canada #Egypt #AI - Egyptian Ambassador to Canada Ahmed Abu Zeid held a virtual meeting with with officials from the Canadian Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development on means of promoting bilateral and international cooperation in AI. (Egypt Today)
Human Resources
ADDA, MBZUAI sign MoU to support digital transformation using AI — wam.ae
#UAE #skils - Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) the government entity that leads the digital transformation in the emirate, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) the world’s first graduate-level, research-based AI university, signed an MoU to skill-up government workers and support AI efforts. (Emirates News Agency)
ADDA and HRA collaborate to enhance productivity and business continuity in Abu Dhabi — www.zawya.com
#UAE #HR - The Department of Government Support – Abu Dhabi (DGS), represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), has announced that it has completed the development of an analytical model on human resources management in the Abu Dhabi Government, in cooperation with the Human Resources Authority – Abu Dhabi (HRA). (Zawya)
Surveillance
EVOTEQ deploys AI-powered surveillance system for Bee'ah's Landfill Security Management — www.zawya.com
#UAE #surveillance - UAE-based EVOTEQ has deployed a smart security system with AI-assisted surveillance and oversight system for Middle East’s sustainability pioneer Bee’ah’s 92-hectare Al Sajaa landfill in Sharjah. (Zawya)
Marketing
Egyptian startup AIM Technologies is reshaping marketing with AI — egyptianstreets.com
#Egypt #socialmedia - With businesses around the world having to adapt quickly to changing consumer behaviour as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egyptian startup AIM Technologies has managed to capitalise on the renewed importance of online and digital tools. (Egyptian Streets)
Security
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: 'Machine-gun with AI' used to kill Iran scientist — www.bbc.com
#Iran #security - Iran says Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot by a satellite-controlled weapon with AI. He was shot dead in a convoy outside Tehran on 27 November. The claim could not be verified. (BBC)
GITEX 2020
Israeli delegation appears at UAE's GITEX for the first time — www.timesofisrael.com
#Israel #UAE #GITEX2020 - Israeli and Emirati business leaders met in Dubai this week for the GITEX 2020, one of the world’s largest annual tech summits. It was the first time Israelis participated in the conference, a development that followed the normalization deal signed between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi in September. (Times of Israel)
RTA exhibits AI initiatives at GITEX 2020 — www.mediaoffice.ae
#UAE #GITEX2020 - Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is launching a host of smart initiatives and services at GITEX 2020 featuring the use of smart and advanced technologies. The exhibit includes the use of AI in taxis during Covid-19, AR in guiding customers to RTA service points, and usage of drones in inspecting Dubai Metro tunnels. (Media Office)
Awards
11th edition of Hamdan medical awards honours AI in health sector — gulfnews.com
#UAE #HamdanAwards - The Grand Hamdan International Award was bestowed upon professor Dr Bradley Nelson, head of the department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zurich. He was honoured for his research on micro-robotics and nano-robotics, highlighting its applications in biology and medicine. (Gulf News)
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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com
Carrington Malin is a UAE-based entrepreneur, marketer and writer who focuses on emerging technologies.