/WAS/Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, Head of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (Sdaia), confirmed that artificial intelligence will play a role in creating approximately 69 million jobs in the next five years, according to a report issued by the World Economic Forum on the future of jobs.
He explained that generative AI technology will enhance existing human jobs rather than replace them, by automating some tasks instead of taking over all tasks, based on a recent study published by the International Labor Organization.
This was announced in today’s speech as part of the activities of the first International Labor Market Conference organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. The event was attended by more than 6,000 people from 40 participating countries.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi stressed that the current evolution in the labor market and its paths towards artificial intelligence is not a threat to jobs but an opportunity to enhance human capabilities and find innovative solutions if applied correctly according to relevant policies and regulations. In general, employees will not be deprived of their jobs with the presence of artificial intelligence, instead, preference will be given to the person utilizing AI in fulfilling available jobs.
He stated: New professions have emerged in the job market that were previously unknown, such as AI engineer, AI researcher, data scientist, AI artist, AI writer, input engineer, content experts, among others, noting that these dynamic changes in the labor market pose strategic challenges in terms of the shortage of skilled employees in new skills and competition among workplaces for this limited number.
Data analysis indicates that around 77% of companies worldwide are facing challenges in finding the talents they need by 2023, which is a doubling increase from 2015 when the difficulty percentage was 38%. The expert emphasizes that not dealing with this situation strategically and proactively could have negative impacts on the labor market, potentially leading to a significant gap between job seekers and the labor market.
He also explained that as a preemptive step by the wise leadership to address this challenge, a royal decree was issued in 2019 to establish the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority “Sdaia“, to lead the AI and big data agenda in the Kingdom, enhance specialized capacities and find sustainable solutions for the labor market in these two vital fields.
He affirmed that through the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy launched in 2020, crises can be transformed into opportunities and the AI revolution can be turned from a threat into a supporter of the labor market, by the will of God.
He noted that the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy aims to train and qualify 20,000 specialists, scientists, and experts in the field of data and artificial intelligence, and increase awareness among 40% of the workforce in the market. This strategy is based on three main stages. The first stage starts with generating inspiration and raising people’s interest in the importance of artificial intelligence. The second stage involves building and empowering professionals in this field. The third stage concludes with developing sustainable solutions by distinguished experts.
Regarding the inspiration stage, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi stated thatSadaaya has raised awareness among 600,000 people about data and artificial intelligence, and our goal is to reach 40% awareness level among employees in the public and private sectors by 2030, God willing.
It was pointed out that Sadaaya organized the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit in the years 2020 and 2022, with the participation of over 200 experts from 100 countries and 20,000 AI enthusiasts in the latest edition. The role of artificial intelligence in the job market was discussed in detail by specialists.
Regarding Sadaaya, they have developed strategies to directly spread awareness about artificial intelligence to the general public. The initiative “Intelligence League” started in 2020 and targeted the sports field, where more than 570 teams participated in a hackathon predicting the results of the Saudi league that year, leading to increased awareness of the importance of AI in sports.
In the field of art, Sadaaya organized the “Artificial Intelligence Arthathon,” where AI is used in art with the participation of 70 countries. Prior to this, an intensive training camp was launched for engineers and artists to use AI in creating innovative digital artworks, aiming to raise awareness in the art field.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi pointed out that Sadaaya did not stop there and ventured into the education sector. This year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Talent and Creativity “Mawhiba,” they launched the first National Olympiad for Programming and AI Sciences (Azhka), with 260,000 male and female students from intermediate and secondary levels registering. The “Path to Azhka” event was organized on the sidelines of the Olympiad with over 10,000 students, their parents, in attendance. In the healthcare sector, they launched the “Health Hackathon” in collaboration with Stanford University, where experts collaborated to innovate AI solutions in healthcare.
In the construction and empowerment sector, it was mentioned that Sadaaya launched its Academy to build capabilities and coordinate with all entities. There are 24 Saudi universities offering 33 programs in data science and artificial intelligence, with some universities making AI studies mandatory for all majors in bachelor’s and master’s degrees, requiring at least one course in AI.
It is noteworthy that Sadaaya, in collaboration with Tawq Academy, organized intensive camps, benefiting over 15,000 students from 500 camps so far. Currently, more than a thousand students are learning daily in these camps, with over 100 individuals graduating weekly, benefiting them for the job market. Sadaaya also organized training camps in data and AI fields, such as large language models, with over 2,000 people trained on them.
It was mentioned that Sadaaya held a summer camp last year in collaboration with “Kaust” and “Oxford British” universities to train 124 students from both colleges. They also launched a global initiative called “Elevate” in collaboration with Google Cloud to train 25,000 women in AI over the next five years globally.
A thousand women from over 28 countries have been trained, and a program to train teachers in AI was launched where over 1,000 teachers have been trained, along with overFrom 30,000 male and female students. An initiative was also launched to train government leaders in the field of artificial intelligence, where 200 government leaders were trained in cloud governance.
It is worth noting that the training camps organized by Sadaya differ from the traditional methods of delivery, relying on new and modern educational and training methods. These camps are led by specialized engineers, ensuring the delivery of each track at a global level. Upon graduation from the camps, the graduate is able to start working immediately and possesses the acquired skills. So far, 4,000 experts and specialists have graduated out of a total of 20,000 in the field of artificial intelligence.
In terms of sustainability, it was announced: An initiative was launched by the Kingdom to establish the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics, which was recently accredited by UNESCO as a second-category center. Next year, we will launch several initiatives globally, Allah willing, with the aim of spreading the Kingdom’s experience in the field of data and artificial intelligence, and benefiting from international expertise in this field.
Sadaya is also working on preparing a national guide for data and artificial intelligence professions, to clarify emerging non-traditional roles and establish a career path that enables individuals to stay in their specialized technical field even after retirement age, without the need to transition to a management position to increase their income.
Sadaya announced the provision of business accelerators as part of its educational and awareness efforts, with the aim of encouraging startups around the world. So far, they have provided their services to about 30 companies and aim to reach 100 companies by 2024. His Excellency confirms that these accelerators represent an opportunity for entrepreneurs to strengthen their partnerships.
