VIEWPOINT
THE EMERGENCE OF MACHINE LEARNING OPERATIONS NABIL ABBAS, PRINCIPAL AT BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, MENA, SAYS MLOPS HELP ORGANISATIONS SCALE AI FOR THE FUTURE
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ver the past few years, Artificial Intelligence [AI] and Machine Learning [ML] have emerged as effective solutions to several global challenges. Amidst COVID-19, which drove businesses and governments to accelerate the digitisation of services, the influence of AI and ML has grown even more significant. The International Data Corporation [IDC] estimates global spending on AI to grow from $50.1 billion in 2020 to over $110 billion in 2024. AI spend across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region is expected to grow to $1.2 billion, an increase of 24.7 per cent from last year. As the world prepares for a postCOVID new normal, the outlook for AI
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CXO INSIGHT ME
FEBRUARY 2022
appears more promising than ever. According to a survey by the AI Journal, 72 per cent of business leaders across the globe are positive about the role AI will play in the coming years. Most surveyed executives believe that AI will enable their organisations to achieve significant efficiencies and bring about innovative business models, products, and services, unlocking limitless opportunities. AI adoption is fast gaining ground in the GCC as governments pursue ambitious innovation and cost reduction targets. For example, the UAE aims to be the world leader in AI by 2031, with AI applications expanding across priority sectors, including healthcare, transportation, education, space, and
technology. Saudi Arabia, ranked first in the Arab world and 22nd globally on the global AI Index in 2020, aims to accelerate AI development in critical sectors as means to support its economic diversification agenda. The kingdom is pushing ahead swiftly with the world’s first citizen robot and a $500 billion NEOM smart city, powered by AI. Qatar continues to drive AI adoption in both public and private sectors as part of its National AI Strategy, enabling the Qatar National Vision 2030. In fact, the AI market across the Middle East and Africa is estimated to exceed $500 million in 2022, almost doubling in size relative to 2019 estimates. The impact of such a rapid
