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50% businesses are using Gen AI in UAE and Saudi Arabia: Survey

50% businesses are using Gen AI in UAE and Saudi Arabia: Survey
11 July 2024 08:39

A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)

Fifty per cent of businesses in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have started using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology in their operations, a global survey has found.

The findings are based on a survey of 1,600 decision-makers in industries worldwide by US AI and analytics software company SAS and Coleman Parkes Research.

In this fairly large survey, which examines a cross-section of industries, China tops the world, where over 83% businesses said they had started adopting GenAI technologies, followed by the UK (70%), US (65%), Australia (63%), Germany (57%), Japan (53%), France (52%), Spain (51%), and UAE/Saudi Arabia (50%). The global average for GenAI usage is 54%.

The industries surveyed included banking, insurance, healthcare, telecommunications, manufacturing, retail and energy.

The UAE’s ranking in the survey may be effected by its joint evaluation with Saudi Arabia, where the adoption of GenAI adoption might be relatively low and uneven. The UAE’s adoption of the technology could well be above the global average of 54%, if it is was separated from Saudi Arabia in the survey.

The UAE has made great strides in the use of GenAI, hogging global headlines with many recent initiatives. The UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence kickstarted the AI transformation in the country in a big way.  The government has been actively promoting the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) with the launch of the Falcon LLM by Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) being a prime example. This freely available LLM allows researchers and businesses to experiment and develop LLM applications, fostering innovation in the field.

Microsoft also announced a strategic investment of $1.5 billion in G42, a leading UAE-based AI technology holding company, in April 2024. This has triggered a global dialogue about the UAE’s arrival on the technology scene.

Globally, the results underscore China’s rapid progress in the GenAI field, way ahead of the US and other Western countries.  Last week, a report by the World Intellectual Property Organization showed China was leading the GenAI patent race, filing more than 38,000 between 2014 and 2023 against 6,276 filed by the US in the same period.

“While China may lead in GenAI adoption rates, higher adoption doesn’t necessarily equate to effective implementation or better returns,” said Stephen Saw, Managing Director at Coleman Parkes. “In fact, the US nudges ahead in the race with 24% of organisations having fully implemented GenAI compared to 19% in China.”

The adoption of GenAI is going to be key to the global economy in this decade and beyond.  McKinsey estimated GenAI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. That’s comparable to the entire GDP of the UK  in 2021.

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