logo
Saudi AI system enhances Hajj security, management

Saudi AI system enhances Hajj security, management

Arab News06-06-2025
MAKKAH: The Saudi Data and AI Authority has supported government efforts for this year's Hajj season through its Sawaher system, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
Sawaher was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and uses data and AI technology to analyze broadcasts, video recordings, and images captured by smart cameras.
The initiative enhances analytical capabilities and contributes to a safer Hajj experience, the SPA reported.
The system helps manage and analyze large datasets and produces tailored analysis of pilgrims' behavior. It 'uses advanced algorithms for density and crowd counting, supporting government agencies in implementing Hajj plans and estimating pilgrim numbers.' The system also provides real-time updates.
For Hajj, more than 5,000 cameras have been integrated into the Sawaher system, covering more than 80 permanent and seasonal locations across the holy sites and key entry points.
This network supports the work of 18 government agencies and more than 600 personnel, according to the SPA.
The system offers more than 80 services and is operable on 100 workstations in operations rooms and monitoring centers, contributing to improved response efficiency during the Hajj season.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China Calls for New Global AI Body amid Fierce Competition with US
China Calls for New Global AI Body amid Fierce Competition with US

Leaders

timean hour ago

  • Leaders

China Calls for New Global AI Body amid Fierce Competition with US

China has called for the establishment of a new organization to promote global cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), reported Reuters. The move is widely seen as an attempt by China to position itself as an alternative to the US as the two countries feverishly compete for dominance in this pivotal technology. Coordinating Global Efforts During the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China's Premier, Li Qiang, said that Beijing wants to contribute to coordinating international efforts to regulate the fast-evolving AI technology and share the Chinese advances in that critical field. Li added that Beijing advocates for open AI access, promoting equal rights for its use by all nations and businesses. He added that China is ready to share its expertise and products with other countries, especially the Global South – a term that refers to developing, emerging or lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The state-sponsored WAIC conference attracts leading companies, government officials, researchers and investors. This year's edition has seen the participation of more than 800 companies, displaying 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots. AI Regulation The Chinese Premier pointed to the challenge of regulating AI's growing risks, which included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange, highlighting the importance of global consensus. 'Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules,' he said. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible,' Li added. Global Governance During the conference, China's Vice Foreign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu, said that Beijing wanted the proposed organization to foster pragmatic cooperation in AI. The organization's headquarters would likely be in Shanghai, Ma told a roundtable of representatives from over 30 countries, including Russia, South Africa, Qatar, South Korea and Germany. Moreover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry unveiled an action plan for global AI governance, calling on governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to collaborate and foster international exchanges including through a cross-border open-source community. US-China Competition The Shanghai conference took place amid a heated technological competition between the US and China, with the AI at the center stage. On Wednesday, the US President, Donald Trump, revealed an AI action plan aimed at loosening restrictions on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. It aims to expand American AI exports to allies, in an attempt to maintain the American edge over China in this critical technology. Without explicitly mentioning Washington, Li appeared to refer to the US' efforts to hamper China's advances in AI, warning that the technology risked becoming the 'exclusive game' of a few countries and companies. The US has banned advanced technology exports to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia, and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could boost China's military capabilities. However, these measures failed to curb China's advancements as Beijing has continued making AI breakthroughs. AI Race As the AI is poised to be the most transformative technology of the 21st century, it has become the key battleground in the technological competition between Washington and Beijing. Although the US is still dominating in the production of top AI models, China is closing the gap, according to Stanford's 2025 AI Index Report, issued in April. While the US leads in AI models quantity, China has rapidly shrunk the quality gap to near parity across major benchmarks in 2024. Furthermore, Beijing maintains its leadership in AI publications and patents, the report noted. 'The race is tighter than ever, and no one has a clear lead,' the Stanford report authors concluded. Short link : Post Views: 152

China's Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization
China's Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization

Asharq Al-Awsat

time5 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

China's Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday proposed establishing an organization to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, calling on countries to coordinate on the development and security of the fast-evolving technology. Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth but said governance is fragmented and emphasizing the need for more coordination between countries to form a globally recognized framework for AI. The three-day event brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the United States - the world's two largest economies - with AI emerging as a key battleground. "Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules," Li said. "We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible." Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could enhance China's military capabilities. Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from US officials. Li did not name the United States in his speech but he warned that AI could become an "exclusive game" for a few countries and companies, adding that challenges included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange. GOVERNANCE PLAN China wants to share its development experience and products with other countries, especially those in the Global South, Li said. Also on Saturday, China released an action plan for global AI governance, in which it invited governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to work together and promote international exchanges including through a cross-border open-source community. The plan proposes accelerating digital infrastructure such as clean power, new-generation networks and data centers, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry. The AI conference is an annual government-sponsored event in Shanghai that typically attracts major industry players, government officials, researchers and investors. Saturday's speakers included Anne Bouverot, the French president's special envoy for AI, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the Godfather of AI", and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has in past years regularly appeared at the opening ceremony in person or by video, did not speak this year. Besides forums, the conference features exhibitions where companies demonstrate their latest innovations. This year, more than 800 companies are participating, showcasing more than 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to organizers. The exhibition features predominantly Chinese companies, including tech giants Huawei and Alibaba and startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree. Western participants include Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon.

Huawei Shows off AI Computing System to Rival Nvidia's Top Product
Huawei Shows off AI Computing System to Rival Nvidia's Top Product

Asharq Al-Awsat

time5 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Huawei Shows off AI Computing System to Rival Nvidia's Top Product

China's Huawei Technologies showed off an AI computing system on Saturday that one industry expert has said rivals Nvidia's most advanced offering, as the Chinese technology giant seeks to capture market share in the country's growing artificial intelligence sector. The CloudMatrix 384 system made its first public debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), a three-day event in Shanghai where companies showcase their latest AI innovations, drawing a large crowd to the company's booth. The system has drawn close attention from the global AI community since Huawei first announced it in April. Industry analysts view it as a direct competitor to Nvidia's GB200 NVL72, the US chipmaker's most advanced system-level product currently available in the market. Dylan Patel, founder of semiconductor research group SemiAnalysis, said in an April article that Huawei now had AI system capabilities that could beat Nvidia. Huawei staff at its WAIC booth declined to comment when asked to introduce the CloudMatrix 384 system. A spokesperson for Huawei did not respond to questions. Huawei has become widely regarded as China's most promising domestic supplier of chips essential for AI development, even though the company faces US export restrictions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg in May that Huawei had been "moving quite fast" and named the CloudMatrix as an example. The CloudMatrix 384 incorporates 384 of Huawei's latest 910C chips and outperforms Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 on some metrics, which uses 72 B200 chips, according to SemiAnalysis. The performance stems from Huawei's system design capabilities, which compensate for weaker individual chip performance through the use of more chips and system-level innovations, SemiAnalysis said. Huawei says the system uses "supernode" architecture that allows the chips to interconnect at super-high speeds and in June, Huawei Cloud CEO Zhang Pingan said the CloudMatrix 384 system was operational on Huawei's cloud platform.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store