The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and Philips have signed a MoU which is aimed at promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the health care system in Saudi Arabia in line with the healthcare goals of the kingdom's Vision 2030.

 

Lauding the agreement, Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah said: "It will expand the provision of AI services in the health field in an effort to improve the service of citizens and expatriates in various medical fields, in a way that will directly contribute to achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals."

 

Ministry of Health is working with SDAIA to benefit from AI technologies and to support joint local and global efforts to form a knowledge system that combines AI with health and operational expertise in order to develop integrated solutions that contribute to improving the performance and productivity of health care systems and improving the level of national competencies working in this field by adopting AI technologies, he noted.

 

SDAIA President Dr Abdullah bin Sharaf Al Ghamdi affirmed that the kingdom is witnessing today, under the umbrella of its Vision 2030, a developmental renaissance in all fields, at the forefront of which are technical fields.

 

This agreement comes as part of SDAIA's efforts to promote advanced technologies in the health sector, support the exchange of experiences, and develop national capabilities that would improve the quality of services provided in the health sector, create new job opportunities, and improve the national economy to be among the AI and data-driven economies.

 

Supervisor of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, Dr Majid bin Mohammed Al Tuwaijri, said the cooperation plan between SDAIA and Philips will focus on five main areas.

 

These include employing the capabilities of AI in the health care sector, establishing a knowledge center for AI, giving priority to the application of health technology solutions that employ AI in health work paths, access to a network that includes senior opinion leaders and specialists in the field to facilitate the exchange of information and joint research, and support ways to adopt new AI applications, in addition to contributing to creating new job opportunities related to AI in the field of health care services.