AI could deliver USD 1 tn in value to MENA by 2030

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to EnterpriseAM AI + Innovation! There are 11 days left before Halloween. Why not dip into the 1970s, arguably the best decade for horror movies — and for movies generally. Start with Richard Donner’s Omen, Brian DePalma’s Sisters and, of course, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

BEFORE WE GET STARTED: Saudi Arabia has pulled the plug on the Future Investment Initiative as Houthi attacks on the Kingdom continue. Riyadh’s flagship investment conference was scheduled to feature a heavy AI-investment track. Organizers said in a statement they would “soon” announce 2027 dates.

Now, let’s get going.

One big, big number: AI could deliver USD 1 tn in value for the MENA region between today and 2030. That’s the big — huge, really — number out of a pair of recent reports on the region from the World Economic Forum. The reports paint a best-case picture in which the region exits this decade not only far richer but also more efficient, more productive, and more resilient in the face of climate change and other big challenges, all because of AI.

With a lot of caveats: But that rosy picture and gargantuan USD figure come with many, many caveats about what MENA nations must do to turn their AI potential into reality.

Plus there’s the broader, perennial question: Whether government and industry leaders in the US and elsewhere will put enough safeguards on AI development so that it’s a source of profit and advancement rather than destabilization.

Here’s how IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva put it: “If there are no safeguards, then the risks may exceed the opportunities. And above all, we do need an ethical foundation, and I’m not sure we are there as a society,” she said Friday at the institution’s joint annual meeting with the World Bank in Bangkok. Here’s more from Reuters.

The WEF reports underscore the precarious position of both government and industry leaders in MENA — and the rest of the globe, for that matter — as they move to embrace AI. There’s a huge upside if everything goes right, but also big downsides if any number of things go wrong, many of which are out of their control.

Breaking it down: Here’s how that potential USD 1 tn breaks down per the first WEF report on resilient AI growth: “Up to USD 200 bn in sustainable financing through the financial sector, USD 370 bn in sustainable investment flows enabled by the public sector, USD 250 bn in long-term asset losses avoided and USD 90 bn in increased valuation through improved sustainability performance for the energy sector, alongside USD 100 bn in sustainable projects launched via cross-sector partnerships.”

Methodology: WEF arrived at the figure by organizing a series of AI “sprints” with regional partners aimed at testing the potential value of AI in different sectors. The global management and consulting firm Bain helped manage the sprints. Regional partners included First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE state oil company ADNOC, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning, and Bahrain’s Ministry of Sustainable Development.

Notice a trend? Eagle-eyed observers will note that’s an entirely GCC list, raising questions about how broadly the USD 1 tn in potential benefits will be shared. The report does not break down the potential benefits by country.

Best practices: The report does make a series of recommendations for how the region can wring the most value from AI, including:

• Building sustainability into AI systems from the start
• Experimenting broadly with AI, then quickly prioritizing the highest value use cases
• Using AI to reimagine how work is done rather than making incremental improvements.

The second WEF report focuses on how to sustainably build the region’s massive projected AI data center footprint, including making significant upgrades to the region’s electricity infrastructure and leaning on AI to reduce data centers’ water use and cooling costs.

Now, let’s get to today’s Lede, which looks at Egypt’s efforts to be a bigger player in that very same data center game. –Joe