La ambición de emerger como las principales naciones de IA motiva a estos estados del Golfo.
Artificial Intelligence (IA) podría generar una sustancial ganancia de 320.000 millones de dólares en el Medio Oriente para 2030, lo que equivale a aproximadamente el 2% de las ventajas globales, según un informe publicado por la consultora PwC. Stephen Anderson, líder de estrategia y mercados del Medio Oriente en PwC, afirmó durante la Cumbre Global de IA de CNN (GAIN) celebrada en Riad, Arabia Saudita, que las inversiones en IA están aumentando en la región.
Anderson aseguró que los habitantes de la región están más dispuestos a experimentar y participar en IA en comparación con otros lugares del mundo. Sin embargo, el rápido crecimiento de la IA tiene un lado negativo: es muy consumidora de energía y se está convirtiendo progresivamente en uno de los principales contribuyentes de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Google reveló que sus emisiones de 2023 aumentaron casi un 50% en comparación con 2019, en parte debido a las necesidades energéticas de la IA. Se espera que la demanda de energía de la IA, los centros de datos y las criptomonedas se duplique para 2026, según la Agencia Internacional de Energía.
Anderson es optimista de que los países del Golfo, whose economies rely heavily on fossil fuels, possess the potential to become "major players" in this technology and make it greener. He explained that due to the region's strategic position in energy production, it is an ideal location to merge sustainability, energy, and the computer power necessary for AI. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are the Middle East's AI pioneers.
As Saudi Arabia endeavors to minimize its economy's dependence on oil and gas, it has allocated significant funding to AI, which it believes will support grasping the objectives outlined in its "Vision 2030" strategy, a government program targeting an economic diversification. A recent forecast from the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), which hosted the GAIN summit, indicated that AI will contribute 12% of the country's GDP by 2030, growing annually at an impressive 29%.
Plans are underway to create Arabic-language models based on local datasets, capturing the nuances that have been absent from platforms like ChatGPT. Last year, the UAE introduced Jais, a tool for generating Arabic sentences, and Saudis have developed an Arabic chatbot named ALLaM.
It was announced last week that ALLaM will be hosted on Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform. This news was preceded by the announcement in early 2023 that ALLaM would also be accessible through IBM's watsonx platform.
Nick Studer, CEO of management consulting firm Oliver Wyman Group, who attended the GAIN summit, stated that focusing on Arabic language models could fortify Saudi Arabia's position in competition with English-speaking markets, which enjoy an inherent advantage because of the many prominent language models.
According to Studer, around a dozen Arabic-based large language models are under development in the country, catering to various applications, such as chat, governmental, and corporate scenarios. "The combination of governmental and private sector entrepreneurship might shape an AI hub, especially as the kingdom and the broader region strive to rejuvenate their economies," he said.
Obstáculos de gobernanza
Establecer la gobernanza de IA y datos es uno de los principales desafíos: ¿cómo se deben regular con seguridad, ética y justicia la IA y los datos?
Durante la cumbre se presentaron diversas políticas, como la publicación de pautas de uso responsable de deep fake por parte de la SDAIA, la presentación de la Carta de Riad para la IA en el Mundo Islámico, que establece un marco ético para el desarrollo de tecnologías de IA, y un marco global de preparación para la IA liderado por la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones.
Según Studer, un marco regulatorio sólido es esencial para el futuro de la IA. "Hay numerous concerns which emerge in conjunction with the development of AI - not just privacy worries, not just the threats of job loss, but also those related to national sovereignty if your economy starts to rely on a set of tools which are built outside of your control. Sensible regulation is of utmost importance," he explained.
The Middle East, with its AI pioneers Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, aims to contribute 12% of its collective GDP through AI by 2030, showcasing its global significance in this technology sector. Moreover, the world is closely watching these developments, as AI has the potential to reduce the Middle East's reliance on fossil fuels, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change.
