RIYADH: The World Bank Group’s 2026 World Development Report, titled The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, highlights Saudi Arabia’s growing position in the global artificial intelligence landscape, placing the Kingdom among the world’s top 10 countries for private AI investment and identifying it as an attractive destination for AI talent and a model for government data integration.
This international recognition reflects the support and empowerment of the Kingdom’s leadership through an integrated national approach established by Saudi Vision 2030 to build an economy driven by data, compute, and innovation, and to reinforce the Kingdom’s position in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The recently released report is the World Bank’s first comprehensive assessment of the impact of artificial intelligence on developing economies, the opportunities it creates for individuals, firms, and governments, and the requirements needed to maximize its development impact while managing associated risks.
The report is structured around three key dimensions that shape the impact of artificial intelligence on development: Capabilities, through which AI can broaden access to expertise and support decision-making; Concentration, resulting from the production of advanced models, chips, and data centers being concentrated in a limited number of countries and companies; and Complements, including infrastructure, data, skills, and institutions. Through these dimensions, the report outlines a progressive pathway that begins with adopting available tools, moves toward adapting them to local languages, data, institutions, and needs, and ultimately advances toward developing cutting-edge technologies and the infrastructure that enables them.
