Call for regional AI governing body to tackle boom in Middle East

Najat Benchiba-Savenius says Middle East countries should work together on AI investment and regulation

Najat Benchiba-Savenius, the founder of Gazelle Advisory Group. Photo: London Business School annual Mena conference

The Arab world should establish a regional regulatory body on artificial intelligence that would establish unified laws to govern the technology in a way that caters for local cultures and traditions, a leading businesswoman has said.

Although Gulf countries are investing heavily in AI, their efforts are fragmented, which puts them at risk of losing control of the rapidly evolving technology, said Najat Benchiba-Savenius, the founder of Gazelle Advisory Group, which offers chief of staff services to family funds.

“The region is quite nascent in terms of investment in AI. Although it's investing heavily, it's still in the early stages of its capability and scalability,” said Ms Benchiba-Savenius.

“If there were a regulatory body that has a legally binding approach to AI ethics, it would give a global standard and best practices with governance on the main core principles and parameters of approach to AI in the region,” she told The National.

“The region is operating in silos. We have the European AI regulatory bodies, but we should have similar set-up in Arabia that also brings in North Africa,” she said.

“There has to be a level of accountability. At the moment it is just sprouting wildly,” she said.

One example she gave is that Arabic language learning models in the region are focused on classical Arabic without capturing the differences of regional dialects.

“Language is part of culture, which is part of identity. So that, for me, is a bit of a disconnect between trying to invest in the tech but being disconnected from the cultural nuances,” she said at the London Business School Annual Mena conference.

Ms Benchiba-Savenius was a chief of staff at Neom, and advises royal family offices in the Middle East.

Generative AI, which automates activities within a range of functions, could be worth almost 3 per cent of annual non-oil GDP in the GCC economies today, according to a 2024 report by McKinsey.

Saudi Arabia is expected to gain the most from AI, which could contribute $132 billion or 12.4 per cent of GDP by 2030. This is followed by the UAE, which could see contributions of $96 billion in 2030, or 13.6 per cent of GDP, according to PwC.

Ms Benchiba-Savenius said a new generation of investors in the family offices she works for was likely to try to build its own Silicon Valley for the region.

“We're in the process of succession planning. We have a handing over of the reins to the next generation who are very plugged into the AI ecosystem, start-ups and Silicon Valley and trying to emulate that in the Middle East,” she said.

“But I think there's a danger of trying to scale too quickly and trying to play catch-up, as opposed to having a long-term, sustainable approach to investments,” she said.

Among the challenges she perceives with AI is that existing models and applications are heavily skewed towards western cultural norms, and not localised enough to reflect the diversity of the Arab world.

“Religion, culture, language, our cultural sensibilities which are inherent in the region – these must be maintained and preserved through any AI tech enhancement,” she said.

She urged backers to “not leave behind the localised elements” in their approach to AI.

Samer Salty, founder and managing partner of Zouk Capital. Photo: London Business School annual Mena conference

The call for wider regional co-operation comes amid the new US administration’s proposed model of leveraging AI to become self-sustaining.

“For the US, AI is developing so fast that it makes you feel that you don't need the rest of the world,” said Samer Salty, founder of Zouk Capital, a venture capital firm that focuses on sustainable and climate technology. “Even immigration for labour you don't need if you develop human knowledge robots.

“That's the scary part, that they may decide to close their borders and be self-sustaining, which would be the worst thing to happen,” Mr Salty told The National.

Countries in the Gulf and the Arab world could not afford to adopt such a model, he added.

“For a small country, it must have open borders, because that's how you trade. That's how you get the goods in the now and create value and wealth for everybody,” he said.