RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday launched the “SMAI 2” initiative to strengthen national capabilities in data and artificial intelligence, reinforcing the Kingdom’s focus on human capital development and digital transformation.

The initiative was launched by Minister of Education and Chairman of the Board of King Saud University Yousef Al-Bunyan, and President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, during the International Conference on Capacity Building in Data and Artificial Intelligence (ICAN2026), held at King Saud University in Riyadh.

SMAI 2 is being implemented in partnership with 11 government ministries and aims to enable public sector employees to adopt artificial intelligence technologies responsibly, while enhancing productivity and operational efficiency across government entities.

During the launch, Al-Bunyan and Al-Ghamdi presented the SMAI 2 charter to representatives from several ministries, including Health, Finance, Media, Justice, Industry and Mineral Resources, Transport and Logistics Services, Education, Human Resources and Social Development, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Sports, and Energy.

The initiative seeks to achieve its objectives through specialized training and awareness programs designed to build national capabilities and prepare qualified talent to keep pace with rapid technological developments and evolving labor market demands.

SMAI 2 builds on the success of the first phase of the program, “SMAI 1,” which enabled more than 1.1 million Saudis to benefit from accredited artificial intelligence education and training programs.

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