‘SAMAI' initiative has enabled over 330,000 Saudi citizens to use AI, says SDAIA chief
During the keynote session of the Non-Profit Sector Forum in Education and Training 2025 in Riyadh on July 2, SDAIA chief Abdullah Alghamdi also said that partnerships the authority had forged with other government agencies have positioned the Kingdom first globally in empowering women in AI and second globally in community awareness.
Launched in September 2024 at the Global AI Summit (GAIN), the SAMAI initiative targets citizens across all age groups and professional backgrounds.
The program is a joint undertaking of the SDAIA, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, according to SPA.
Alghamdi also cited several national initiatives that resulted from this collaboration, including the National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence, 'ATHKA Competition.'
More than 260,000 male and female students from intermediate and secondary schools participated, with 10,000 advancing to the final stage, he said.
One key initiative cited by the SDAIA chief was the 'Road to ATHKA,' which trained more than 570,000 students on artificial intelligence concepts.
Yet another initiative was the 'Future Intelligence Programmers' program, which has successfully trained over 10,000 teachers.
The SDAIA and Education ministry had likewise jointly established the Center for Excellence in Education, "designed to institutionalize technological integration within the education sector, sustain future-oriented initiatives, and leverage AI to enhance learning outcomes."
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