Saudi's $18bn data centre plan; Egypt's AI strategy published
Good morning,
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
I have to say, there's a bit less news this week, but there are some rather big announcements!
Firstly, this week saw the launch of Egypt's national AI portal and the publishing of its national AI strategy in the public domain. The AI strategy is something that the Ministry of CIT has been talking about for the past 18 months, but few have had the opportunity to read an actual document. You can download the updated versions of the strategy, Arabic or English, here.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Saudi Arabia's Ministry of CIT announced an ambitious national data centre strategy, to raise $18 billion in funding and build out data centre capacity from an estimated 60 megawatts today to 1,300 MW by the year 2030.
Scroll down for more, including ZDNet's report on the Middle East's tech-led transport revolution, Abu Dhabi's autonomous freight trucks, plus an interview with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence president Eric Xing!
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
/Carrington
AI & Data Strategy
Saudi Arabia launches $18bn data centre strategy — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #infrastructure - The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia (MCIT) has announced a plan to attract $18 billion of investment to build a network of large-scale data centres across the Kingdom, reaching a capacity of 1,300-megawatt (MW) by 2030. (Arab News)
CIT minister announces launch of AI platform, shares national AI strategy — www.egypttoday.com
#Egypt #AIstrategy - Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Council Amr Talaat announced the launch of Egypt's national official AI portal and the publishing of the country's national AI strategy. (Egypt Today)
Startup News
UAE-based AI-powered EdTech Alef wins prestigious SIIA CODiE Award — thestartupscene.me
#UAE #education - Edtech startup Alef Education, has won the award for Best Use of Emerging Technology for Learning at the 2021 SIIA CODiE Awards for its Alef Platform. The platform provides learning and teaching solutions that use real-time data and AI to help bring about improvements across the education sector. (The Startup Scene)
Transport
Smart cities to the hyperloop: This region is investing in a tech-led transport revolution — www.zdnet.com
#MENA #transport - The Middle East is seeing a flurry of startup activity in the transport sector that, when combined with large-scale government investment, could deliver transformative economic, environmental and human benefits. (ZDNet)
CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, Khalifa Port implement region’s first autonomous port truck system — wam.ae
#UAE #portservices - Following a two-month trial period involving six electric Q-Trucks will be commissioned by CSP Abu Dhabi container terminal, which is operated by Hong Kong group COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (CSP). The port will now fully embed L5 Autonomous Freight Trucks, which are manufactured by Shanghai-based Westwell-Lab subsidiary Qomolo, into its operations. (Emirates News Agency)
Oil & Gas
Saudi Aramco named Most Valuable Player in Offshore Technology's AI ranking — www.offshore-technology.com
#Saudi #energy - Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are leading the way for artificial intelligence investment among top oil and gas companies according to Offshore Technology's analysis of a range of GlobalData data. (Offshore Technology)
Interview
MBZUAI president: Healthcare an ideal jumping-off point for Artificial Intelligence — www.wam.ae
#UAE #AI - Professor Eric Xing, President of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), says that healthcare is an 'ideal jumping-off point for Artificial Intelligence because it generates so much data'. However, he thinks that healthcare providers are yet to fully leverage their potential. (Emirates News Agency)
Digital Wellbeing
UAE National Programme for AI launches guide to raise awareness about 'deepfakes' — www.wam.ae
#UAE #digitalwellbeing - The UAE Council for Digital Wellbeing and the UAE National Programme for Artificial Intelligence have published a Deepfake Guide (PDF) to raise social awareness on both the harmful and useful applications of deepfake technologies, and the effect on social wellbeing. (Emirates News Agency)
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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.