Huawei hosts Innovation Day to discuss AI strategies, new opportunities

Huawei held an Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference at their third annual Innovation Day on the sidelines of Gitex 2018 in Dubai. The event attracted industry experts and government leaders, including the guest of honour and keynote speaker, Mothanna Hamdan Gharaibeh, Jordan Minister of ICT, to strategize on the best path forward to bringing AI to the Middle East.

Huawei organized the conference to foster a discussion on how the Middle East can best position itself to benefit from the imminent arrival of AI. The development of a national AI strategy must become a priority, as AI is a central aspect of national development plans and visions in the region to become diversified, knowledge-based economies. As AI becomes more advanced, it is becoming an all-purpose technology which will drive the development of all industries, creating new venues of innovation and growth.

Mothanna Gharaibeh, ICT Minister, Jordan said: "Investing in AI is an investment in the future. AI has the potential to solve many intractable challenges we are facing across industries today, by transforming the way we approach problems, and completing tasks more effectively and efficiently than humans can. It will also free people from spending our labour on tedious and repetitive tasks, allowing us to use our minds to engage in high-level activities. Investing in Jordan ICT is not only valuable, it is also smart; Jordan is perfectly poised to benefit from the opportunities of AI - we have at our disposal a population of talented and innovative entrepreneurs. By continuing to invest in progressing the ICT industry, and its next evolution in the form of AI, we will open new venues of innovation and economic growth for organizations, and uplift the Kingdom to new heights of prosperity."

Anwaar Al Shimmari, Chief Innovation Officer, Ministry of Infrastructure Development, UAE, gave a keynote about the benefits of AI in meeting global infrastructure demands and the ability of robots to deliver information faster, reduce costs and risks. She said: "Robots will use building facility management and asset management concepts to monitor and control infrastructure assets."

The Middle East is one of the first regions worldwide to import Huawei's recently-unveiled revolutionary AI products and solutions. The AI conference was held just a week after Huawei Rotating Chairman Eric Xu announced the global launch of Huawei's AI strategy, as well as its full-stack, all-scenario AI portfolio. Huawei's AI portfolio includes its new Ascend series of AI chips - the world's first AI IP and chip series designed for a full range of scenarios. The portfolio also includes new products and cloud services that are built on Ascend chip capabilities. With its full-stack AI portfolio, Huawei aims to provide pervasive intelligence to help drive industry development and build a fully connected, intelligent world.