SDAIA Conducts a Conference to Address AI Governance

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government and corporate sectors are discussing AI governance rules at the start of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) conference.

A Gathering of AI Leaders

More than 400 representatives and directors of data and AI offices will attend the two-day SDAIA conference, which will cover topics such as AI governance principles, the experiences of AI offices in participating entities, sector-specific regulations, successes, and challenges, and how to improve national outcomes by leveraging international experiences.

Moreover, the first day of the conference will cover the 2025 open data plan and the definition of educational intelligence concepts. The second day will introduce the AI ethics motivational tags, recognise the organisations that embraced them quickly, and examine the Kingdom’s AI readiness report.

The conference’s main points are as follows: presenting the most recent advancements in the field, promoting innovation, and emphasising its significance in accomplishing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. This helps create a comprehensive regulatory framework in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and improve collaboration between the public and private sectors in this area. Other topics covered include the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, as well as its significance.

Besides, to improve the quality of artificial intelligence products and services offered to citizens, residents, and visitors, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority stated that artificial intelligence service providers in the Kingdom will get accreditation certificates.

The accreditation certificate will be awarded to the entities most dedicated to the motivational tags if the applicants are assessed using the National Data Governance Platform.

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Evaluating Risks Across Five Levels

This certificate will offer a bundle of incentive tags for companies depending on the product and service level and the risks associated with five levels—Aware, Adopting, Committed, Trusted, and Pioneering.

To create a national registry that allows organisations to track their adherence to the system’s provisions and offer services, auxiliary tools, and proof pertaining to the protection of personal data, SDAIA also urged non-profit organisations covered by the Personal Data Protection System application to register on the National Data Governance Platform.

The self-assessment service for compliance, notification of personal data leaks, and the receipt of complaints resulting from the processing of personal data are just a few of the electronic services offered by the National Data Governance Platform to safeguard data and people against inconsistent violations and abuses.

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority released a document last year that governs the National Registry of Controllers in the Kingdom. It contains 14 articles that establish the extent to which controllers must register on the National Data Governance Platform, provided that they are a public entity, that their primary activity involves processing sensitive and personal data, or that an individual processes personal data for purposes other than personal and family use.

The International Centre for Research and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence emerged in the same context by SDAIA in collaboration with the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science. Its goals are to support the research and development of this technology, raise awareness and communication regarding its ethical implications, offer suggestions regarding artificial intelligence policy, and improve capacity building and support.

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Building Skills for the Future

Earlier this month, the Authority took part in the launch of the Injaz Hackathon competitions, which involve 400 university students, technology and engineering specialists, programmers, developers, artificial intelligence engineers, productivity innovators, and entrepreneurs.

In addition, ninety teams compete to find technical solutions that increase institutional efficiency in the public and private sectors and reduce time and costs in work. The Authority’s goal is to support innovation at the national level and harness artificial intelligence technologies to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

By providing useful guidelines on how to identify the most effective use cases for artificial intelligence in enhancing the quality of services offered, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, a national reference for everything related to data and AI, aims to increase awareness of these technologies, maximise their benefits, and support the Kingdom’s various entities’ journey towards digital transformation.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia intends to start a new $100 billion artificial intelligence project to invest in data centres, start-ups, and the infrastructure required to advance AI, draw in talent, enhance the local technological environment, and entice international businesses to make investments.

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