Artificial Intelligence set to add $215 bln to Saudi economy by 2035

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to boost economic growth in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and add $215 billion and $182 billion, respectively, to their national economies by 2035, according to a recent report by Accenture.

The report, which examined 13 industries in Saudi Arabia and 15 in the UAE, said AI will have the most significant impact on the financial services, health and transport and storage industries, with increases of $37 billion, $22 billion and $19 billion, respectively, to their annual gross value added (GVA), which measures the output value of all goods and services in a sector.

Even the labor-intensive sectors such as education and construction sectors will witness GVA increase of $6 billion and $8 billion over the same period, respectively, due to AI-enabled productivity boosts than in turn lead to increased profitability.

On a global level, Accenture said that AI could boost profitability by 38 percent, leading to an economic boost of $14 trillion by 2035.

The report identified five areas that will need to be considered by policymakers as AI technologies become increasingly common: growing the local talent pipeline using AI, advocating for a code of ethics, becoming a global testbed for social AI, preparing workers for AI, and minimizing the impact of labor market dislocation.

“With governments in the region looking to break free from a decades-long dependence on oil, AI can act as a key driver to future growth,” said Amr El Saadani, managing director of Accenture’s Financial Services practice in the Middle East and Turkey.

“However, to overcome the social and economic challenges that can arise from a shift of this magnitude, governments will have to put in place a robust roadmap to enable their countries to fully reap the rewards of this powerful technology,” he added.