RIYADH: Artificial intelligence is set to contribute nearly $160 billion to Saudi Arabia by 2030, said the CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group.

Jomana Al-Rashid emphasized the importance of understanding the economics of AI and its potential impacts on financial systems. 

Industry leaders and experts have assembled at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh to discuss the profound influence of AI on the global economy and media organizations. 

Al-Rashid said: “A recent PwC report has highlighted that AI is meant to contribute almost 16 trillion dollars to the global economy by 2030, 160 billion dollars of that to Saudi Arabia.”

The CEO continued: “As media organizations, we try to tackle what AI is. We try to tackle generative AI, how it can improve the workflow, how it can improve efficiency and increase creativity.” 

With speculations of whether it will replace human roles, Al-Rashid emphasized that AI brings excitement and apprehension. The CEO encouraged a different perspective, suggesting that AI can enhance creativity and increase efficiency, transforming rather than replacing jobs.

She also touched upon the fears within media organizations regarding AI, particularly issues surrounding misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, and hallucinations. These concerns are paramount for news organizations entrusted with providing accurate and reliable information to the public.

President of NCsoft, Songyee Yoon, shed light on the gaming sector’s role as a pioneer in adopting and testing AI technologies. 

She referred to the industry as a “lens into the future” and noted that it has consistently been at the forefront of innovation, including AI, virtual reality, augmented reality, and cloud technology.

Yoon highlighted: “Before the technology matures to be transferred in other industry, gaming has been a safe ground to test the technology and when it matures safe enough, it goes to other industries.”