
Saudi Researcher at MIT Develops Cutting-Edge System for Dust Storm Monitoring
Focusing on vast regions across Saudi Arabia and the Sahara Desert, the research integrates scientific innovation with the goals of environmental sustainability. Faisal AlNasser, a scholarship recipient from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), was awarded the 2024 MIT Open Data Prize for his efforts in providing remote sensing data to areas lacking conventional weather monitoring systems—significantly enhancing climate surveillance in desert regions.
As part of this project, AlNasser has published three peer-reviewed papers exploring how nature reserves can help mitigate dust storms. Additionally, his findings offer valuable insights for developing early-warning systems that protect lives and reduce economic damage caused by these environmental hazards.
This work highlights Saudi Arabia's growing leadership in applying AI to environmental challenges and its commitment to supporting impactful, real-world research. It also reinforces global collaboration on climate issues, particularly those related to dust storms that affect millions each year.
Finally, AlNasser's achievements represent a model of success for Saudi Arabia's qualitative scholarship program. It empowers young researchers to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions in alignment with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals for scientific excellence and environmental resilience.
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Leaders
a day ago
- Leaders
Saudi Researcher at MIT Develops Cutting-Edge System for Dust Storm Monitoring
A Saudi doctoral candidate in civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is pioneering advanced tools to monitor and analyze dust storms using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite data. Focusing on vast regions across Saudi Arabia and the Sahara Desert, the research integrates scientific innovation with the goals of environmental sustainability. Faisal AlNasser, a scholarship recipient from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), was awarded the 2024 MIT Open Data Prize for his efforts in providing remote sensing data to areas lacking conventional weather monitoring systems—significantly enhancing climate surveillance in desert regions. As part of this project, AlNasser has published three peer-reviewed papers exploring how nature reserves can help mitigate dust storms. Additionally, his findings offer valuable insights for developing early-warning systems that protect lives and reduce economic damage caused by these environmental hazards. This work highlights Saudi Arabia's growing leadership in applying AI to environmental challenges and its commitment to supporting impactful, real-world research. It also reinforces global collaboration on climate issues, particularly those related to dust storms that affect millions each year. Finally, AlNasser's achievements represent a model of success for Saudi Arabia's qualitative scholarship program. It empowers young researchers to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions in alignment with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals for scientific excellence and environmental resilience. Related Topics: UN Summit to Revive Two-State Solution for Mideast Peace Set for June Hani Najm Wins First Edition of Great Arab Minds in Medicine Saudi Arabia Discusses Boosting Imports of Indian Medicines & Foods Saudi Arabia to manufacture vital medicines and vaccines Short link : Post Views: 8

Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
‘Writing is thinking': Do students who use ChatGPT learn less?
When Jocelyn Leitzinger had her university students write about times in their lives they had witnessed discrimination, she noticed that a woman named Sally was the victim in many of the stories. 'It was very clear that ChatGPT had decided this is a common woman's name,' said Leitzinger, who teaches an undergraduate class on business and society at the University of Illinois in Chicago. 'They weren't even coming up with their own anecdotal stories about their own lives,' she told AFP. Leitzinger estimated that around half of her 180 students used ChatGPT inappropriately at some point last semester -- including when writing about the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), which she called both 'ironic' and 'mind-boggling.' So she was not surprised by recent research which suggested that students who use ChatGPT to write essays engage in less critical thinking. The preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was shared widely online and clearly struck a chord with some frustrated educators. The team of MIT researchers behind the paper have received more than 3,000 emails from teachers of all stripes since it was published online last month, lead author Nataliya Kosmyna told AFP. 'Soulless' AI essays For the small study, 54 adult students from the greater Boston area were split into three groups. One group used ChatGPT to write 20-minute essays, one used a search engine, and the final group had to make do with only their brains. The researchers used EEG devices to measure the brain activity of the students, and two teachers marked the essays. The ChatGPT users scored significantly worse than the brain-only group on all levels. The EEG showed that different areas of their brains connected to each other less often. And more than 80 percent of the ChatGPT group could not quote anything from the essay they had just written, compared to around 10 percent of the other two groups. By the third session, the ChatGPT group appeared to be mostly focused on copying and pasting. The teachers said they could easily spot the 'soulless' ChatGPT essays because they had good grammar and structure but lacked creativity, personality and insight. However Kosmyna pushed back against media reports claiming the paper showed that using ChatGPT made people lazier or more stupid. She pointed to the fourth session, when the brain-only group used ChatGPT to write their essay and displayed even higher levels of neural connectivity. Kosmyna emphasized it was too early to draw conclusions from the study's small sample size but called for more research into how AI tools could be used more carefully to help learning. Ashley Juavinett, a neuroscientist at the University of California San Diego who was not involved in the research, criticized some 'off base' headlines that wrongly extrapolated from the preprint. 'This paper does not contain enough evidence nor the methodological rigor to make any claims about the neural impact of using LLMs (large language models such as ChatGPT) on our brains,' she told AFP. Thinking outside the bot Leitzinger said the research reflected how she had seen student essays change since ChatGPT was released in 2022, as both spelling errors and authentic insight became less common. Sometimes students do not even change the font when they copy and paste from ChatGPT, she said. But Leitzinger called for empathy for students, saying they can get confused when the use of AI is being encouraged by universities in some classes but is banned in others. The usefulness of new AI tools is sometimes compared to the introduction of calculators, which required educators to change their ways. But Leitzinger worried that students do not need to know anything about a subject before pasting their essay question into ChatGPT, skipping several important steps in the process of learning. A student at a British university in his early 20s who wanted to remain anonymous told AFP he found ChatGPT was a useful tool for compiling lecture notes, searching the internet and generating ideas. 'I think that using ChatGPT to write your work for you is not right because it's not what you're supposed to be at university for,' he said. The problem goes beyond high school and university students. Academic journals are struggling to cope with a massive influx of AI-generated scientific papers. Book publishing is also not immune, with one startup planning to pump out 8,000 AI-written books a year. 'Writing is thinking, thinking is writing, and when we eliminate that process, what does that mean for thinking?' Leitzinger asked.


Saudi Gazette
5 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia and China sign executive program to strengthen cultural collaboration
Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Ministry of Culture and the China-Arab Cultural and Tourism Cooperation Research Center signed on Sunday an executive program aimed at further strengthening collaboration between Saudi Arabia and China in the cultural field. The executive program was signed by Deputy Minister for Research and Cultural Heritage Affairs Dr. Maha Abdullah Alsenan, and Vice President of Beijing International Studies University and Member of the Joint Committee of the China-Arab Research Center for Cultural and Tourism Cooperation Cheng Wei in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture in Diriyah. The executive program, taking place in parallel with the 2025 Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year, reinforces joint efforts in cultural areas. Under the program, the two sides will jointly carry out research projects to enhance the quality of cultural research submitted and collaborate to identify and compile cultural content related to each country held in national archives. In addition, the Ministry of Culture will collaborate with the Chinese side to hold joint conferences and support mutual visits and exchanges between cultural researchers from both countries to discuss common cultural issues. The program also includes support for research exchange operations, facilitating visits by Saudi researchers to Chinese universities and research centers, as well as by Chinese researchers to Saudi universities and research centers. It provides both sides with specialists in cultural fields, offers support in the research fellowship program, and provides consultative support. This executive program comes within the context of the Ministry of Culture's commitment to promoting international cultural exchange as one of the objectives of the National Culture Strategy under the Saudi Vision 2030. This is also an extension of the activities of the 2025 Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year, which aims to consolidate the close relations between Saudi Arabia and China in various development fields, particularly in the cultural field, which has witnessed significant growth and development in recent years.