MUSCAT: The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MoTCIT) held here yesterday, October 23, 2024, a conference highlighting generative AI under the auspices of Dr. Saud bin Hamoud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries Wealth and Water Resources.

In his keynote address, the Under-Secretary for Communications and Information Technology at MoTCIT, Dr Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, highlighted the significance of generative AI. “Generative artificial intelligence is considered the new revolution in AI, with its economic contribution estimated to be between 2 to 4 trillion dollars by 2030. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology has given utmost importance to generative AI.”

The initiatives are part of Oman’s wider plan to grow the AI sector, he said. “Last month, under the directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the esteemed Cabinet approved the National Programme for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies. This programme aims to localize and enhance artificial intelligence in economic sectors, as well as localize AI technologies in developmental sectors. It also emphasizes the governance of artificial intelligence with a human-centered vision for the benefit of humanity,” he stated.

The conference also included the final ceremony of the “Engineer it with AI” competition, which was launched by the Ministry earlier in August. “The idea of the competition is to encourage youth to come up with real-world ideas and applications to solve generative AI challenges. Today, we are pleased to honor the best outputs of this competition and the winning teams,” said Dr Al Shidhani.

The first winner - Embedded Stars - is an educational platform which utilises generative AI to offer various learning features including customised study plans , summary of notes and a smart assistant. The second winner - AI Hire - is a recruitment platform that uses AI to analyse and generate resumes quickly and efficiently. In third place is OmniWare, which utilises AI to improve the accuracy and speed of fracture identification within X- Rays aimed at combating medical errors which can reach to 20 per cent due to time constraints.

According to officials, several private and public bodies are currently in the process of adopting several models created by participants.

The conference also featured several panel discussions with local and global experts highlighting several key topics including the impacts of quantum computing on AI technologies, generative AI as a driver for future development, and changing business models. An accompanying exhibition showcased the products and services of local and global tech companies.

The National Programme for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies falls under the government’s strategy of boosting the contribution of the digital economy to the local GDP from 2 per cent currently, to 5 per cent by 2030 and 10 per cent by 2040.

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