Arab News | UNESCO’s Ethics of AI forum opens in Riyadh

RIYADH: The 4th Global Forum on the Ethics of AI opened in Riyadh on Monday, with delegates exchanging views and discussing ideas on how best to shape the technology’s future.

UNESCO Deputy Director General Asa Regner told a press conference that the event aimed to strengthen national governance and ensure that AI delivered for all people and the planet.

Saudi Arabia is the first Arab country to host the forum and has been a leader in incorporating ethical regulations into its institutions. The International Center for AI Research and Ethics is representing the Kingdom at the event and is also a co-partner.

Dr. Majid bin Ali Alshehry, acting director general of ICAIRE, said that the Kingdom was working hard to connect its organizations and institutions.

“These efforts reinforce the Kingdom’s position as an active partner in shaping the future of AI globally,” he said.

Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, president of the Saudi Data & AI Authority, said that the forum coincided with Saudi Arabia’s designation of 2026 as the year of artificial intelligence.

The forum would showcase the greatest global initiatives and experiences in the field through high-level sessions in specialized workshops, he said.

Regner said that UNESCO had partnered with 78 countries, providing technical expertise to help them build national AI strategies and policies in line with its “Recommendation on the Ethics of AI,” the first global standard in the field.

A total of 58 countries had also completed UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology — a diagnostic process that helps them to assess their legal, social, economic, educational and technical preparedness to develop, deploy and govern the technology, she said.

More than 20,000 stakeholders, including indigenous and disability rights leaders from around the world, contributed to RAM’s development.

Regner said that the process of RAM would give varying results depending on each nation’s individual circumstances. This, she said, was why international cooperation was crucial to ensuring gaps between developed and underdeveloped countries were resolved.

After the call by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and other industry leaders to ease the pace of artificial intelligence development, Regner said that the forum was set to discuss this and many other pressing issues, not least the need for effective cooperation between companies and governments.

The event would serve as a hub for intellectual exchanges between nations, scientists and technology experts, targeted at problem solving on a global scale, she said.

The forum runs until Thursday.