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The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on Tuesday that its ALLaM model, which generates Arabic text, has been incorporated into IBM’s leading Watsonx platform.

The announcement was made during the ongoing IBM Think event in Boston.

This choice proves ALLaM’s advanced technical capabilities.

During the experimental phase, the model underwent rigorous testing against international generative AI standards to ensure it was ready to compete with other models on the Watsonx platform, widely used by developers around the world.

The ALLaM add-on for Watsonx, currently available in a trial version, enables further professional assessment. The testing will play a key role in accelerating the release of the model’s full capabilities and establishing it as a highly competitive candidate in the field of Arabic language generation.

This inclusion is also in line with the broader mission of Saudi Arabia, and SDAIA in particular, to promote the Arabic language on a regional and global scale. Efforts focus on preserving the integrity of the language while promoting its use by enriching Arabic content in various fields, including technical, cultural, literary, scientific and other humanities.

Ultimately, this initiative aims to leverage artificial intelligence technologies and digital applications to support cultural diversity and benefit all humanity, regardless of language, nationality or education.

These efforts contribute to the achievement of the goals set out in Saudi Vision 2030, which is guided by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SDAIA, to make the Kingdom a global leader in advanced technologies, including related to AI.

ALLaM is the first artificial intelligence system developed in Saudi Arabia that aims to answer users’ questions about various fields of knowledge in Arabic.

The groundbreaking model uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology. Trained on a massive Arabic dataset, one of the largest in the world, and supplemented with English content, ALLaM provides comprehensive answers.

Users can submit queries in text or audio format and ALLaM will respond in the format of their choice, drawing from the most trusted sources in the Kingdom and the Arab world.

The ALLaM model is a product of the SDAIA-IBM partnership. This collaboration is a significant milestone in the development of Arabic-language applications within the framework of generative artificial intelligence, said regional vice president of IBM Saudi Arabia Ayman Al-Rashed.

“This collaboration unlocks the potential of Arabic language models for both the public and private sectors, adapting to the cultural needs of the region,” he added.

Al-Rashed further emphasized the broader impact of this project, emphasizing: “Companies can use these models to develop innovative services.”

This latest achievement strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a leader in artificial intelligence technology tailored to the specific needs of the regional market, he added.

Experts, technicians, innovators, CEOs and decision-makers in the field of artificial intelligence attended the IBM Think event.