Navigating AI: All Roads Lead to Riyadh for DeepFest 2024
The most anticipated AI event of the year will be co-located with LEAP.
After the success of its inaugural edition last year, the region’s premiere AI event DeepFest will return to Riyadh on 4 March. Themed “AI Beyond Imagination,” DeepFest is set to welcome over 20,000 people and will be co-located with LEAP, which has earned the moniker “Digital Davos” for being the world’s most-attended tech event.
DeepFest, which is organized by Tahaluf in partnership with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), will take place March 4-7 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in the capital’s Malham district. Featuring over 120 companies and 150 leading AI experts in live demos, sessions, and tracks, DeepFest 2024 will bring together global leaders, data scientists, innovators, enterprises, academics, startups, and entrepreneurs to discuss the latest trends in tech, including GAI, robotics, ethics, and the future of social AI systems.
Tahaluf, launched in 2022, is a joint venture between Informa PLC, the world’s largest tradeshow organizer, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and the Events Investment Fund (EIF). Established in 2019, the SDAIA is responsible for helping the kingdom achieve its goal of becoming a global leader in responsible AI.
“The constant evolution of the tech landscape, particularly AI, is paving the way for breakthroughs unlike anything we have seen before,” says Michael Champion, co-founder of LEAP and CEO of Tahaluf. “As an event co-located with LEAP, DeepFest will take on increased significance this year, given the high-caliber talent we are hosting that is currently revolutionizing the industry.”
LEAP 2024, which is set to welcome a record-breaking 172,00 attendees this year, will feature over 1,000 global and regional experts across 15 key tracks, including retail, energy, smart cities, creative economy, edtech, fintech, and healthtech.
“Generative AI holds tremendous potential to help improve operations and customer engagement. Specifically, generative AI can unlock businesses' and organizations’ potential as they open doors to new and previously untapped areas of opportunity. At IBM, we are unwavering in our belief that AI can enable entities to problem-solve more effectively than ever, with these solutions being leveraged to put data to work with unparalleled levels of efficiency,” says Fahad Alanazi, Vice President and General Manager of IBM Saudi Arabia.
DeepFest: A Showcase of the AI Revolution
According to a study by PwC, AI could contribute a substantial $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030--more than the combined current output of India and China. PwC estimates that 12.4% of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP), or $135.2 billion, will come from AI by 2030.
This year’s edition of DeepFest will examine the impact of technology on society and the future of work in a 4-day event that will also host an exhibition spotlighting AI innovations, sector-dedicated tracks, live demos, innovation sessions, and start-up pitches.
Live demos will include “The Mirror Interview” by Jordi van den Bussche (also known as Kwebbelkop), where he will meet his digital doppelganger on the Main Stage on 4 March. On 6 March, Mo Gawdat will join attendees on the Main Stage to discuss how to maintain happiness and well-being in an AI-driven future. Finally, the creators of Sara the Robot, QSS Robotics and AI, will unveil the first Saudi-made bilingual male robot, Mohammad.
DeepFest will open with talks by Ramses Alcaide, President and CEO of Neurable; Alvin Wang Graylin, China President and Global VP of Corporate Development at Taiwan’s HTC; Gary Sorrentino, Global CIO at Zoom; Aku Srikanth, Director/Principal at Workday; and Meetup CEO David Siegel, among others.
On the first day, speakers will look at the development of AI, from Turing to GPT-4, with talks focused on the foundational concepts of AI, machine learning, deep learning, and breakthroughs in robotics. Day 2 will be dedicated to the challenges and ethical considerations of using GAI and will include a talk by the Group Chief Data and AI Officer at ITV, Sanjeevan Bala, who will speak about how enterprises can create value from data and AI.
On the third day, the spotlight will be on how AI-powered robotics, quantum computing, and natural language understanding will shape the future of AI. Speakers will include Zhu Shenggao, Vice President of AI at Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia; Kevin Knight, Chief Scientist at Threeven Labs Company; and Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric.
DeepFest 2024 will also feature a daily thought leadership conference about the profound impact of AI. It will conclude with a discussion of the social implications of AI, with a focus on ethics, collaborations, responsible AI use, and sustainability. Speakers will include Elizabeth Adams, Affiliate Fellow at Stanford Institute for Human-Centred AI, and Ivana Bartoletti, Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer at Wipro.
DeepFest will be open to exhibitors from 8 am to 8 pm and will be open to attendees from 10:30 am to 7 pm.