Muscat: The action plan of ‘The National Programme for AI & Advanced Technologies’ is accelerating the adoption of AI in sectors that are vital for diversified economic growth and sustainable development

Undoubtedly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed our lives. From everyday applications such as search engines to high-end usage in the complex operations of oil & gas industry, AI is touching our lives in an all-encompassing manner. However, humanity has hardly scratched the surface of AI’s immense potential.

According to PWC estimates, AI is expected to contribute around US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The automated cybersecurity solutions, in the next five years, alone could be a US$5.2 trillion industry. The AI in the Middle East region is expected to continue growing between 20-34% per annum to reach US$ 320 billion by 2030, in sync with the global trends. As per a Gartner report, around 10% of enterprises had devised AI orchestration platforms to operationalize AI in 2020. By 2025, a whopping 50% of enterprises will adopt AI-based operations. In the process, AI will facilitate enterprises in improving their cloud migration strategy and optimizing the value of big data technology.

AI’s Role in Vision 2040

Oman Vision 2040 is aimed at sustainable growth, in the next 20 years, powered by a society and economy built on the pillars of knowledge, innovation and technology. And one of the key enablers for this intense transformation is the widespread adoption of AI and advanced technologies. The government in Oman has been the catalyst in the adoption and promotion of AI in the country. The leading international bodies have validated this fact.

In a recent finding, Oman was ranked among the top four Arab countries in the Governmental Readiness Index for Artificial Intelligence for 2021, issued by the Oxford Insight Foundation. The Sultanate performed admirably on parameters such as providing ICT based public services to citizens, the national strategy for AI, data protection and privacy laws, and the use of ICT and digital services, the evolution of communications infrastructure, the availability of digital skills and entrepreneurial culture, in the report. The remarkable progress made by the Sultanate has to be attributed to the government’s unstinted focus on developing a robust digital eco-system over the years.

To take a quantum leap on the AI path, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology set up ‘The National Programme for AI & Advanced Technologies’ in 2020. The initiative is aimed at promoting the adoption of AI in sectors that are vital for contributing to economic growth and making a lasting social impact through cohesive application of smart technologies in fisheries, agriculture, transport, logistics, energy, mining, industry, health and tourism. It is also geared towards localizing and transfer of AI technologies by supporting R&D in building algorithms, libraries and software tools, in addition to building and adopting open source software that enables AI and its applications. It is also oriented towards accelerating the application of AI technologies in cybersecurity and supporting the upgrading of the local cloud-computing infrastructure to process AI applications.

The development of human capabilities in AI is also one of the key objectives of the initiative. Another focus area of the government is to apply AI in public services such as health, education and smart government applications that deal directly with citizens, residents and investors, in addition to enhancing the role of the government as a primary supporter of adopting these technologies and aligning with existing plans for digital transformation. The encouragement of innovation in the field of AI and entrepreneurship through partnerships between the government and private sectors to fund startups is expected to lead towards an AI driven digital culture in the Sultanate.

Another important element of the AI-led digital environment in the coming years will be the ethical, fair and safe use of AI applications. This will be achieved by laying the foundations that take into account human aspects, community privacy, governance of data collection processes, and the development of safe AI algorithms.

AI Powered Sustainability

The attention on Sustainability and adoption of ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) practices are emphasized as the focus areas for not just Oman but the global community overall. As per a report published in Nature magazine, AI could assist in attaining 79% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations and followed by most of the countries. AI technology has the capability to design, execute, advise and plan the future of our planet and its sustainability more effectively by building more efficiently and using resources sustainably. The AI oriented towards sustainable development could support societies and industries to meet the current needs without compromising on the needs of the future generations.

Oman’s National Spatial Strategy (ONSS), launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, is expected to transform the urban landscape of the Sultanate and achieve a balance between the social, economic and environmental developments over the next 20 years. The strategy integrates the development of green and innovative infrastructure ensuring that renewable sources of energy generation and supply are at the forefront of all services and infrastructure networks development within urban and rural settlements. It targets 60 per cent of the national energy needs to be met through renewables including solar and wind sources. It also calls for the promotion of an integrated waste management system and the circular economy.

AI is going to play a vital role in the execution and success of Oman National Spatial Strategy by assisting in development of a circular economy and building resource efficient smart cities. For example, applying AI in urban mobility helps predict traffic congestions and suggest alternate routes to not only facilitate mobility but also reduce the environmental effect. AI also assists in optimizing on conventional and renewable energy plants’ efficiency and maintenance to enhance production and minimize shutdowns. In the agriculture, the humidity, temperature and fertilisation sensors, helps in field harvesting, health monitoring and pest controls, etc.

ODP’s Nebula – The AI Enabler

As the market leader in IT-managed and cloud services, Oman Data Park (ODP) has been playing a major role in the Sultanate’s digital transformation journey since 2012. Over the years, ODP has provided the most modern infrastructure and cutting edge services in areas including cloud computing, cloud storage, cloud networking, web hosting and cyber security to over 800 leading organisations in the government and private sectors to leverage digital technologies. It must be noted that ODP operates an advanced Virtual Data Center across Oman in the field of cyber security based on the latest industry standards, helping customers mitigate risks with its services and save up to 55% on the total cost of ownership compared to traditional data centers.

In our continued quest to enable Oman’s further advancement in digital economy, ODP has made a significant stride towards supporting Oman Vision 2040’s impetus on the adoption of AI across sectors and functions. To augment process automation, cognitive insights and cognitive engagement, ODP recently launched Nebula AI platform in the country. The first-of-its-kind AI platform, introduced in partnership with NVIDIA Partner Network, is targeted at increasing the productivity and efficiency in sectors such as banking & finance, energy, healthcare, logistics and retail, the growth drivers of Oman’s economic march ahead. The AI also enhances the performance of sophisticated intellectual tasks such as decision-making and problem solving, as well as increases customer services proactively.

Powered by the NVIDIA DGX A100 system, Nebula AI service platform is suitable for all AI workloads, offering unprecedented compute density, performance, and flexibility in the world’s first 5 petaFLOPS AI systems. This will enable both government and private sector entities to explore the various benefits of AI with the guarantee of data sovereignty, security and reliability.

ODP endeavours to continue introducing the best-in-class latest technology products and services to support His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik’s vision to place Oman at the forefront of digital and advanced technologies.