The MENA Artificial Intelligence Summit 2024

Setting the scene for the rest of the conference, this session will delve into the region’s emerging AI ecosystem, featuring discussions on ongoing projects, collaborations, challenges met and opportunities. It will provide insights into how countries are leveraging AI in multiple areas of activity, including in the public sector, where the rollout of more responsive and efficient services can enhance public safety, health, and overall quality of life. It will discuss how organisations are integrating the technology into their core processes, products, or service offerings and explore collaborative initiatives between the government, private sector entities and academia to drive AI innovation. It will look at ongoing efforts to increase awareness and build capacity among SMEs and analyse the steps organisations will need to take now to prepare for further transformation.

Possible questions:

• What are notable AI initiatives and success stories in the Middle East? How can these initiatives contribute to the overall growth and competitiveness of the region in the global AI landscape?

• How is AI already used in the public and private sectors to drive digital transformation? 
• What successful partnerships have significantly impacted AI innovation in the region? 
• How does a collaborative approach contribute to the scalability and sustainability of AI initiatives in various sectors? How has open-source contributed to these innovations?
• What future possibilities will emerge if the power of AI is fostered appropriately and responsibly, and how can new business models be built on this? 
• How can organisations prepare for future tech disruption?

While several countries in the Middle East have made strides towards adopting and using AI technologies, most states are in the early stages of setting out strategies for AI development and formulating sets of rules to regulate it. It is believed that a lack of a regional strategy on AI could lead to market fragmentation and hinder competitiveness and that shaping a coordinated, regional approach to AI governance could help address challenges, fosters innovation, and ensure socio-economic growth in the face of global competition. This session will debate if and how a unified AI strategy for the GCC and the Middle East can be delivered, allowing countries to truly shift from being early adopters to developers of AI technologies, facilitating business expansion and leading to the emergence of a strong and competitive AI ecosystem.

Possible questions:

• What is the state of play regarding the emerging national rules that are specific to AI and existing national laws that are already applicable to the technology? Is there a danger of fragmentation and divergence in the region?
• As regulation might not be fit for purpose for a technology that dynamic, could guidelines and codes of conduct be enough to balance social, economic and innovation imperatives?
• How can cooperation between countries in the region be improved to adopt tailored AI governance approaches and business-friendly rules that attract tech investments and are aligned with wider economic objectives? 
• What needs to be done to support the emergence and growth of homegrown companies to reduce dependency on foreign companies and to foster competitiveness in the global market?

As with any digital technology revolution, come ethical challenges: Concerns about potential misuse of AI, biases, privacy violations and the impact of the technology on job markets are being explored worldwide, with countries grappling with the need to create regulatory frameworks that address these concerns while fostering innovation. Examining the ethical considerations that should guide the development and use of AI solutions, this session will explore what the best regulatory or governance approach for AI in the region could be to mitigate the ethical risks associated with the rapid advancement of the technology, foster public trust and align with regional values and culture.

Possible questions:

• What key components should be included in AI policy frameworks that encourage the safe, sustainable, and fair deployment of the technology in the region? 
• How can ethical considerations be addressed in a framework that needs to remain future proof considering the speed and scale at which AI is developing? To what extent can institutional regulation and self-regulation through voluntary risk-based assessment be used to ensure this?
• Could existing laws regulating innovative technologies in the region simply be applied to AI to address ethical issues such as bias, transparency, privacy, and accountability without the need for a new rulebook? 
• How are companies already instilling trustworthiness and accountability in the development and use of AI-powered products and services?
• What role will regulatory sandboxes play in testing ideas and products at the local level before potentially expanding to other markets? 

The rapid development and use of artificial intelligence worldwide has raised complex issues that have domestic, regional, and global implications. It has prompted significant advancements in AI governance globally in the past year alone, with a wide array of international initiatives in the making. The work from China, the US, the EU, the countries of the G7, the OECD, the UN and the signature of the Bletchley Declaration represent pivotal steps in establishing rules, principles, and guidelines on how the technology should be regulated to protect citizens from the risks that AI can pose while creating an environment where innovative and trustworthy AI applications can flourish and access global markets. Despite some divergence in certain areas, it is increasingly accepted that the optimal realisation of AI’s capabilities hinges on trust and international collaboration. This session will discuss the opportunities Middle Eastern countries to deepen their engagement with global partners and contribute to the formulation of international approaches and policies that can mitigate the shared challenges that AI brings while capitalising on its opportunities. It will explore how the countries’ vision of AI interacts with recent international initiatives, assessing commonalities among frameworks and core principles for global AI governance. It will discuss if and how challenges linked to the creation of robust strategies that contribute to global norms and standards governing trust, ethics, and responsible AI can be overcome when the interpretation and operationalisation of these principles often depend on the political and cultural context of a country.

Possible questions:

• What lesson can Middle Eastern countries draw from the development of strategies on AI from other regions and vice-versa?  
• What collaborative efforts have MENA countries undertaken with international organisations and countries in AI governance?
• Is an international strategy for AI realistically achievable? 
• How can it be ensured that the multitude of initiatives lead to approaches that align with each other? 
• How can industry-led codes of conduct that take into account or transcend diverse cultural and legal systems provide a benchmark for those developing rules on AI? 
• What role can MENA countries play in ensuring equitable AI access in developing nations? 
• What role do technology firms play in the safe and responsible development of AI, and how does this feed into global policy strategies? 
• What support do businesses need to navigate global shifting rules and compliance demands, and to design strategies that can address ever-changing standards?

AI-driven advancements are increasingly inextricable from nearly all facets of human activity. To capitalize on this major technological shift, it will be important to equip individuals with the necessary skills, expertise, experience, and confidence to develop, test, deploy, monitor, oversee and interact with AI. With a growing young population that is well-versed in the use of newer technologies, the GCC countries have a unique opportunity to enhance the skill sets of their workforce to leverage AI and fuel home-grown innovation effectively. Workforce re-organization through upskilling and re-skilling does present challenges however, with a risk that those who lack the necessary agility to adapt to these transformative technologies swiftly could be left behind. This session will provide insights into the current state of AI skills development and education in the region, explore the opportunities that a skilled workforce will bring to meet the market needs and discuss what is being done to address issues linked to the disruption of the labour market, to the interaction between humans and machines, and to the digital divide.

Possible questions:

• What is the current state of AI education and skills development? To what extent are these efforts aligned with industry demands, and how is the region leveraging its young workforce to meet the increasing demand for AI-related skills? 
• What more can be done to foster AI literacy, training, and upskilling so that no one is left behind in technological progress?
• How is the job market foreseen to evolve and which sectors are poised for growth due to AI integration in the region? 
• How can further investments from companies in professional development be encouraged?
• What can be learnt from successful public-private partnerships between governments, educational and research institutions as well as private sector entities in fostering AI skills? 
• How can SMBs and start-ups specifically contribute to skilling the local AI ecosystem? 
• To what extent can this help reach new markets at the global level and attract international players in the region?

As AI applications depend on huge amounts of data to train and develop algorithms and machine-learning models, unlocking the full potential of AI in the region will require effective data governance mechanisms and continued strategic investments to deploy a robust digital infrastructure. This session will delve into the critical aspects of open data, data accessibility, sharing mechanisms and the need of a computing infrastructure powerful enough to manage the data and develop sovereign AI applications at scale. With open data presenting opportunities to both the private and public sectors, speakers will highlight examples of effective B2G and B2B models that can stimulate greater data access for companies (including SMBs) and foster the development of advanced computing infrastructure to meet the evolving demands of AI technologies.

Possible questions:

• How can it be ensured that the data sets used to train AI models are high quality, come in large volumes, and are accurate? 
• What more can be done to boost data generation, and what is needed to further increase access to and sharing of datasets that are often locked into siloes across both public and private sectors?
• Are more standardisation activities needed to facilitate interoperability and portability of data?
• To what extent is the digital infrastructure in the region fit-for-purpose to enhance the capacity of AI in boosting value creation?
• What is being done to support high-performance, edge and quantum computing developments which will be crucial to address the growing needs of the data ecosystem?
• What impact have Cloud-First policies had on AI development so far?
• What is being done to ensure that digital infrastructure investment is coordinated across the GCC and MENA to achieve a functioning and globally competitive digital economy in the region?

AI plays a key role in cybersecurity, accelerating efficient prediction, detection, and response speeds to cyber incidents. It is also, however, susceptible to exploitation in sophisticated attacks with malicious actors taking advantage of AI systems to find vulnerabilities or compromise the data used to train the AI. A careful balance, therefore, needs to be found between leveraging AI for cyber security and managing the associated risks. This panel will explore the multi-dimensional and complex synergies between cybersecurity and AI and discuss how this interplay is shaping the future of digital resilience 

in the region. It will examine the evolving cybersecurity risks faced in the region and the regional efforts being made towards AI security. Speakers will also analyse the main security challenges and opportunities faced by industries undergoing digital transformation through AI or integrating AI solutions for cybersecurity. They will shed light on the evolving operational models and risk management strategies and highlight best practices for implementing AI-driven cybersecurity to enhance incident response and mitigate the impact of cyber-attacks. The session will also debate the effectiveness of existing policy initiatives in addressing AI-related cybersecurity threats and ask whether more rules are needed to rein the risks in. 

Possible questions:

• What are the unique cyber security implications of AI?
• How can cybersecurity risks be minimised, and resilience maximised in the development of AI solutions?
• What role will cybersecurity play in the widespread deployment of AI, and what is being done to bolster the security of AI in the region?
• How is AI-driven threat intelligence revolutionising the way organisations in the region analyse, predict, and proactively mitigate cyber threats?
• What solutions are being presented on cybersecurity harmonisation and standardisation in the context of AI to meet the unique needs of each sector and address new evolving threats?
• To what extent do national Cyber Security strategies in the region address AI risks, and what regulatory gaps, if any, need addressing?
• What support do businesses need to protect against AI risks whilst leveraging the technology for competitive advantage?
• How can collaboration between governments, cybersecurity experts and data scientists in that realm be boosted?
• How can a co-ordinated and harmonised approach to AI security be promoted with international partners to navigate the complex interplay between AI-powered threats and innovative AI-driven security mechanisms?

As global economies grapple with the challenges posed by climate change, the role of AI in addressing environment challenges, fostering sustainable practices, and meeting the UN SDG’s and Paris Agreement targets cannot be overlooked. It is equally essential, however, to address the inherent environmental impact of AI and ensure that sustainability is kept at the heart of AI development. With climate change being a global challenge that requires global solutions, there is an urgent need for a global conversation on fostering environmentally responsible AI practices to promote sustainability. This session will look at the measures that needs to be put in place to coordinate multilaterals action to use AI in the fight against climate change whilst minimising the environmental footprint of the technology itself. The session will cover insights, case studies, and ongoing research, promoting cross-disciplinary discussions and collaboration for a greener future in a region where countries have recognized the need to reduce their reliance on oil.

Possible questions:

• How can AI be effectively harnessed to address environmental challenges on a global scale?
• How does AI optimise resource utilisation, reduce waste, and enhance efficiency in various industries? To what extent can Green AI foster the creation of new business models?
• What is needed to ensure that AI systems are designed, developed, and deployed with climate neutrality in mind? What are the biggest challenges in delivering sustainably run and green AI models, and how can these be addressed?
• How can governments, businesses, and communities collaborate to leverage AI for green initiatives?
• What are specific examples of successful AI-driven projects that have significantly contributed to environmental conservation and sustainability?
• What more is needed in the region to promote further R&D on energy-efficient digital technologies? 
• How can regional and global governments, businesses, and communities collaborate to leverage AI uses in green initiatives?