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A new survey reveals that employees in the region are using artificial intelligence more, seeing greater benefits, and feeling more optimistic about the technology than their counterparts elsewhere, fueled by strong government strategies and a workforce leaning into change. Across the Middle East, artificial intelligence is not a looming specter on the horizon; it is a present-day colleague.…

KUWAIT CITY — In a significant push to align with Kuwait’s long-term economic vision, Microsoft convened government officials, industry leaders, and technologists here on Sunday for an AI Summit aimed at accelerating the nation’s digital transformation. The event, themed “Kuwait’s AI Ambition,” served as a platform to underscore the strategic partnership between the Kuwaiti government and the…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In a bid to transform its economy from an oil giant into a digital powerhouse, Saudi Arabia is championing a novel and legally untested concept: the “data embassy.” The initiative represents the Kingdom’s latest attempt to capitalize on the global rush for sovereign artificial intelligence and data security. The model, whereby a nation’s data is stored on foreign soil but…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has pledged to significantly expand its high-technology cooperation with China, a move that underscores the kingdom’s strategy of balancing its decades-old security partnership with the United States against its deepening economic ambitions with Beijing. The commitment was announced during a meeting on Sunday between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and…

A new study from the African Development Bank (AfDB) projects that artificial intelligence could add $1 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2035, but only if the continent rapidly coordinates investments in digital infrastructure, skills, and regulation. The report, titled “Africa’s AI Productivity Gain,” argues that AI presents a “generational opportunity” for the world’s youngest and…

ACCRA, Ghana — In a modest digital lab in Accra’s Chorkor neighborhood, young Ghanaians are tapping on keyboards, many for the first time. The lesson is about basic digital literacy, but the ambition behind it is part of a much larger, continent-wide experiment: preparing Africa’s enormous youth population for a future shaped by artificial intelligence. “Technology is the future. This is where…

JOHANNESBURG — The United Arab Emirates on Saturday pledged a $1 billion investment to deploy artificial intelligence infrastructure and services across Africa, positioning itself as a key external partner in the continent’s race to harness the transformative technology. The initiative, announced by Emirati Minister of State Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri at the G20 leaders’ summit here, aims to…

JOHANNESBURG — The United Arab Emirates on Saturday pledged a $1 billion investment to deploy artificial intelligence infrastructure and services across Africa, positioning itself as a key external partner in the continent’s race to harness the transformative technology. The initiative, announced by Emirati Minister of State Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri at the G20 leaders’ summit here, aims to…

ACCRA, Ghana — In a modest digital lab in Accra’s Chorkor neighborhood, young Ghanaians are tapping on keyboards, many for the first time. The lesson is about basic digital literacy, but the ambition behind it is part of a much larger, continent-wide experiment: preparing Africa’s enormous youth population for a future shaped by artificial intelligence. “Technology is the future. This is where…

A new study from the African Development Bank (AfDB) projects that artificial intelligence could add $1 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2035, but only if the continent rapidly coordinates investments in digital infrastructure, skills, and regulation. The report, titled “Africa’s AI Productivity Gain,” argues that AI presents a “generational opportunity” for the world’s youngest and…

BEIJING — China has activated what researchers describe as the world’s largest distributed artificial intelligence computing pool, linked by a groundbreaking high-speed data network developed over more than a decade, state media reported last week. The new system, known as the Future Network Test Facility, officially began operations on Dec. 3. It connects top computing centers scattered across…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has pledged to significantly expand its high-technology cooperation with China, a move that underscores the kingdom’s strategy of balancing its decades-old security partnership with the United States against its deepening economic ambitions with Beijing. The commitment was announced during a meeting on Sunday between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In a bid to transform its economy from an oil giant into a digital powerhouse, Saudi Arabia is championing a novel and legally untested concept: the “data embassy.” The initiative represents the Kingdom’s latest attempt to capitalize on the global rush for sovereign artificial intelligence and data security. The model, whereby a nation’s data is stored on foreign soil but…

KUWAIT CITY — In a significant push to align with Kuwait’s long-term economic vision, Microsoft convened government officials, industry leaders, and technologists here on Sunday for an AI Summit aimed at accelerating the nation’s digital transformation. The event, themed “Kuwait’s AI Ambition,” served as a platform to underscore the strategic partnership between the Kuwaiti government and the…

Researchers from leading academic institutions have been secretly embedding prompts in preprint papers to manipulate artificial intelligence tools into giving them favorable reviews, according to an investigation by Nikkei and corroborated by Nature. The practice, which involves hiding instructions in white text or tiny fonts, was found in 17 papers uploaded to the preprint server arXiv. The…

Advent Health Shawnee Mission Hospital has filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), accusing the insurer of using artificial intelligence to wrongfully deny more than $2 million in claims and override physicians’ medical judgments. The lawsuit, now in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleges that Blue KC relied on an AI-powered…

In a significant leap toward reshaping how users interact with information online, Google has begun rolling out its most powerful artificial intelligence tools directly into Search, offering subscribers access to capabilities that promise to transform everything from coding to consumer decision-making. At the heart of the update is Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s latest and most advanced AI model, now…