Saudi Arabia wants to lead ‘intelligence revolution,’ Abdullah Al-Swaha, communications and information technology minister, says Industry leaders ‘must master AI within years or face irrelevance’ RIYADH: Humanity is at a turning point, pivoting from digital to artificial intelligence, and shifting from the industrial revolution to the intelligence revolution, a senior Saudi official told the special two-day World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh. “The world today is not at a tipping point but at a turning point in humanity, which means weare pivoting from digital to AI and maybe later on quantum,” Abdullah Al-Swaha, minister of communications and information technology, said. Saudi Arabia is ready to embrace that shift, he added. “The Kingdom is excited with its partnerships with countries and international organizations to carve a path toward inclusive AI adoption,” Al-Swaha told the panel. “We are pushing today an inclusive agenda, that is innovative, and indisputably multistakeholder to make sure that we lead and leapfrog in this era.” The Saudi minister noted that global economic output today is worth $100 trillion, of which $32 trillion is attributed to the labor force, and $1 trillion of that ‘is being augmented, accelerated and democratized by generated AI.’ “Over the next five to seven years, it is projected to go to 40 percent. That’s 43 percent of the labor force productivity. And this is why we are pivoting toward intelligence revolution,” Al-Swaha said. He also cautioned that if “talents and leaders” did not master AI within six or seven years, “they will become irrelevant for any industry they are in.”