How a Saudi consultancy is helping businesses remain competitive in the age of AI

Intelligent robots are expected to soon participate in meetings. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 08 June 2024
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How a Saudi consultancy is helping businesses remain competitive in the age of AI

  • Working with top executives, Foresighted aims to enhance understanding of AI’s advantages and limitations
  • CEO Mohammed Alqarni says business chiefs should experiment with AI or risk falling behind their more nimble rivals

RIYADH: Unless company executives adopt artificial intelligence technologies now, they will soon find themselves outmoded and driven out of business by their competitors, a Saudi AI consultant has warned.

Mohammed Alqarni, an academic, AI-for-business consultant, and CEO of the Saudi AI consultancy firm Foresighted, believes it is important for businesses to begin experimenting with AI right away, otherwise they will quickly fall behind their more nimble rivals.

“AI will not replace your job — someone using AI will replace your job,” Alqarni told Arab News.

Working with top executives, Foresighted aims to enhance understanding of AI’s advantages and limitations, propel the development of innovative business models, and integrate AI technologies into business plans.

“One of the main philosophies that we have is: No one understands the business more than the business people themselves,” Alqarni said. “We teach them what AI can do and what AI can’t do because AI can’t do everything.”

Alqarni is developing a “generative AI organizational transformation framework,” which will consider key impact areas of AI, including the impact of automation on various jobs — including top managerial positions.

“A very interesting insight we found was that the higher the skill needed, the more AI impact will have,” said Alqarni. 

“Initial analysis revealed that if you are in a managerial position, AI will impact your job more, and this makes a lot of sense, because your main tasks are reviewing documents, and doing strategic level work, and that is heavily data-driven, so AI will help you a lot.

“The lower you go, to the more operational tasks, the impact of AI reduces, because it is usually manual work.”

For many in the business world, AI is still just a trendy buzzword that is not fully understood. Alqarni believes bosses cannot afford to be complacent about the tectonic shifts already underway.




For Mohammed Alqarni, CEO of the Saudi AI consultancy firm Foresighted, the sooner business executives learn or get themselves familiar with AI, the better for their careers and businesses. (Shutterstock)

Asked about the possible repercussions that executives and companies will face if they fail to utilize AI, Alqarni is unequivocal: “They will be out of business.” 

He added: “As I said, AI is no longer an option. It’s your only defense against creative destruction. If you do not change, someone else will force you to change or you will be out of business. The sooner you start, the better you are.”

To avoid falling behind, Alqarni says business leaders should start experimenting with AI right away and encourage their employees to start utilizing it in their work. “I am not saying deploy AI today,” he said. “All I’m asking is, start experimenting today.”

One of the biggest challenges executives cite for avoiding AI uptake is that they are “too busy” and lack the time to experiment. However, Alqarni says business chiefs “need to create a culture of innovation, a culture of experimentation in order to utilize AI in the best way.” 




AI consultant Mohammed Alqarni says the transition could be painful, but believes it is wrong to bury one’s head in the sand. (Shutterstock image)

Some are likely putting off AI adoption, fearful that it could make many human jobs obsolete. Alqarni acknowledges the transition could be painful, but believes it is wrong to bury one’s head in the sand.

“The way I think about it, when it comes to AI and unemployment — because this is the ultimate fear at a government level — AI will definitely eliminate jobs, but it will also change some jobs, and at the same time it will create more jobs,” he said. 

“The question is not about whether AI will eliminate jobs or not. It’s about how many jobs will be created and how many jobs will be eliminated and how many jobs will be changed.”

Drawing parallels with the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, when large, steam-driven factories destroyed many traditional cottage industries and artisan crafts, Alqarni said the job market eventually “balanced out” as more roles were created.

Likewise, he believes the employment landscape will adjust to the rhythms of the AI age. “My only concern is the speed at which this has happened,” said Alqarni. “I think we will feel it stronger with AI because the development is much faster.

“For you to build a factory, it will take years. To build a model AI agent that could replace human beings could happen in a couple of days. 

“It is not black and white when it comes to job creation and job elimination, but it is a scale. There will be jobs that are lost, transitioned, changed, as well as job creation.”




The best way to guarantee job security is through re-skilling the workforce, says AI consultant Mohammed Alqarni. (AP/File photo)

For Alqarni, the best way to guarantee job security during this turbulent transition, therefore, is through re-skilling the workforce.

“People that are losing their job will need to be re-skilled, given relevant skills that are needed in the market,” he said. “For jobs that are being changed, it is a matter of up-skilling.”

Alqarni believes Saudi Arabia should prepare young workers for a rapidly changing job market.

“Vision 2030 programs tasked with such planning should consider AI’s impact on jobs in the near and far future,” he said.

“This would ensure that job creation matches the required demand. This is a crucial consideration that is not being considered enough.” 
 

 


Saudi Arabia’s NEOM gigaproject a ‘generational investment,’ minister says

Updated 2 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia’s NEOM gigaproject a ‘generational investment,’ minister says

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s NEOM gigaproject, a futuristic region being built in the desert, is a “generational investment” with a long timeline, the country’s investment minister told Reuters on Monday, adding that foreign investment will pick up pace.
“NEOM was not meant to be a two-year investable opportunity. If anybody expected NEOM to be foreign investment in two, three or five years, then they have gotten (it) wrong — it’s a generational investment,” Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on the sidelines of the World Investment Conference in Riyadh.
“The flywheel is starting and it will gain speed as we go forward, as some of the foundational assets come to the market,” he said.
The world’s top oil exporter has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into development projects through the kingdom’s $925 billion sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), as it undergoes an economic agenda dubbed Vision 2030 to cut dependence on fossil fuels.
NEOM, a Red Sea urban and industrial development nearly the size of Belgium that is meant to eventually house 9 million people, is central to Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia has scaled back some lofty ambitions to prioritize completing elements essential to hosting global sporting events over the next decade as rising costs weigh, sources told Reuters earlier this month. NEOM announced this month its long-time chief executive, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, had stepped down, without giving further details.
Asked what effect the departure would have on investors, the minister said the executive had done “a respectable job” but that “there is a time for everybody to pass on the baton.”
Asked if PIF will continue to do much of the spending on NEOM until more foreign funds come in, Al-Falih said it was not binary.
“I think foreign investors are starting to come to NEOM, they’re starting to channel capital. Some of the projects that the PIF will be doing will be financed through global capital pools, through some alternative and private capital. That’s taking place as we speak,” he said.
“So I urge you not to look at NEOM as being 100 percent PIF and then suddenly there will be a cliff and it will go private.”
Saudi Arabia, which is racing to attract $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment by the turn of the decade — reaching about a quarter of that in 2023 — has recently seen more co-investment deals between state entities and foreign investors.
“It’s always been the intent,” Al-Falih said of foreign inflows alongside state funds.
He noted that foreign investors were at times “still looking, still examining, still sometimes questioning,” but that now there was confidence in the profitability of investment opportunities and that “the risk-return trade-offs are very, very fair and positive to them.”

Saudi crown prince extends condolences to Kuwaiti counterpart on death of Sheikh Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah

Updated 26 November 2024
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Saudi crown prince extends condolences to Kuwaiti counterpart on death of Sheikh Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a cable of condolences to Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on the passing of Sheikh Mohammed Abdulaziz Hamoud Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.
In the cable, the crown prince extended his deepest sympathy to Sheikh Sabah and the family of the deceased.


Saudi tech diplomat meets Iraqi PM to discuss digital cooperation

Updated 25 November 2024
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Saudi tech diplomat meets Iraqi PM to discuss digital cooperation

  • Deemah Al-Yahya, head of the multilateral Digital Cooperation Organization, commended Iraq’s investment in human capital as driver for growth and expansion of digital economy
  • Iraq has been working in recent years to develop a strategy for digital transformation to help support the private and public sectors and grow the economy

RIYADH: Saudi senior tech diplomat Deemah AlYahya, the secretary-general of the multilateral Digital Cooperation Organization, held talks on Monday with Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, about support for Baghdad’s plans to develop its digital business and artificial intelligence sectors.

They discussed Iraq’s strategy for digital transformation, and the need to create and develop a workforce with the tech skills required to help grow the Iraqi economy effectively, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Though Iraq is not a member of the DCO, an international body that focuses on the digital economy, Al-Sudani said his country is keen to work with the organization to meet the nation’s needs for a skilled workforce in the business sector.

AlYahya commended Iraq for the progress it has already made in terms of investment in the human capital needed to develop the digital skills that are essential to drive growth in a digitized economy.

Iraq has been working in recent years to develop a strategy for digital transformation to help support the private and public sectors and grow the economy. Authorities this month organized the first Digital Space Iraq Forum, which focused on the use of advanced technologies, including AI, to help build a comprehensive digital economy.

The DCO says that since it was founded in November 2020, it has been at the forefront of efforts to curate policies and initiatives to support the digital economy in several countries. Currently, 16 nations are members, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Oman. It also has 39 observer partner organizations.

DCO member states have a collective gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion and serve a combined market of nearly 800 million people, more than 70 percent of whom are under the age of 35.


Saudi FM pushes for regional stability at G7-Arab foreign ministers meeting

Updated 25 November 2024
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Saudi FM pushes for regional stability at G7-Arab foreign ministers meeting

  • In his address, Prince Faisal highlighted the ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan took part in an expanded session of the second meeting between G7 foreign ministers and their counterparts from Arab nations on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The meeting was hosted in Italy under the theme “Together for the Stability of the Middle East.”

The session, which addressed pressing regional and international challenges, was held with the participation of Saudi, Jordanian, Emirati, Qatari and Egyptian officials, as well as the secretary-general of the Arab League.

In his address, Prince Faisal emphasized the importance of strengthening partnerships to address these challenges effectively.

He highlighted the ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon, urging the international community to act immediately to secure a ceasefire, facilitate unrestricted humanitarian aid, and progress toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.

He also called for respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, and renewed international efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan and alleviate the resulting human suffering.

The meeting was also attended by Prince Faisal bin Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi ambassador to Italy, the SPA reported.


Scientists awarded for sustainable water innovation at Saudi conference

Updated 25 November 2024
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Scientists awarded for sustainable water innovation at Saudi conference

  • Research aims to improve desalination efficiency
  • Makkah’s deputy emir in attendance

JEDDAH: Scientists were awarded prizes for their work in researching desalination and wastewater treatment technologies during an event in Jeddah on Monday.

The third edition of the Innovation-Driven Water Sustainability Conference was attended by 480 experts, scientists, researchers, specialists and 40 leading organizations in the water sector, from 20 countries.

The grand prize — the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024 — went to Lee Nuang Sim from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University for his project “uncovering the power of centrifugal reverse osmosis,” and Sue Mecham, CEO of NALA Membranes, for her project “chlorine stable new membranes for sustainable desalination and wastewater treatment/reuse.”

Visitors attend the third Innovation-Driven Water Sustainability Conference in Jeddah on Nov. 25, 2024. (Supplied)

Mecham, from North Carolina, US, spoke to Arab News after receiving her award, saying: “We are honored to be selected for the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024. Our mission is to bring new membranes to market and reduce the cost and complexity of water purification.”

Meanwhile, Saudi Ghadeer Al-Balawi from the University of Tabuk was another one of this year’s prizewinners with her project “novel heterogeneous catalysts for improving wastewater treatment plants in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Balawi told Arab News: “I am incredibly honored to be one of the recipients of the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024. This recognition means so much to me. This project has been conducted at the University of Sheffield with hard work and dedication with the assistance of my supervisor, Dr. Marco Conte.”

The event’s opening ceremony was attended by Makkah Deputy Emir Prince Saud bin Mishal and Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, as well as other senior officials.

Following the opening, Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, chairman of the Saudi Water Authority, said that the event reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to promoting scientific and research innovation as a pillar for achieving water sustainability and security.

Through the conference, the SWA aims to share the impact of innovation in promoting the sustainable supply of water, according to SWA spokesperson Sultan Al-Rajhi.

“This conference discusses the latest global practices and innovative solutions in the water industry, with the participation of experts, scientists and specialists, who emphasize the pivotal role of innovation in accelerating the future prosperity of water and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for water and the environment,” he said.

The two-day conference will continue to feature discussions on more than 180 research papers, as well as a water hackathon organized by the Saudi Water Innovation Center.