Khaberni - Saudi Arabia has globally ranked first in security, privacy and encryption in artificial intelligence within Saudi Arabia, and has also come out on top globally in enabling women in artificial intelligence, an indication of the advancement of the technological and research environment in advanced areas in Saudi Arabia, according to the Stanford Institute for Artificial Intelligence Index 2026.
The achievement of Saudi Arabia in reaching advanced global positions in a number of criteria related to the artificial intelligence sector in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Index 2026, strengthens the success of Saudi Arabia, as represented by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in building a competitive national system for elevating Saudi Arabia among the leading economies in the field of data and artificial intelligence.
According to the index, Saudi Arabia ranks third globally in the proportion of competencies in artificial intelligence, and third globally in the proportion of students using generative artificial intelligence, reflecting the growing presence of modern technologies in the educational environment and the expanding scope of their academic use through several initiatives such as the initiative to empower one million Saudis in artificial intelligence "Sumai", and other training initiatives that have seen widespread interest from various members of the community to learn artificial intelligence skills.
In terms of attracting artificial intelligence talents, Saudi Arabia has achieved the fourth global position, reflecting the growing attractiveness of the Saudi market and the private sector’s trust in the opportunities offered by this vital field, where the index referred to an announcement of a $5 billion agreement between AWS and HUMAIN to develop an advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure, contributing to accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in Saudi Arabia and on a global level.
The index indicated that Saudi Arabia achieved the highest global growth rate in artificial intelligence competencies, exceeding a growth rate of (100%) from 2019 to 2025, reflecting its ability to attract talents, to be among a limited number of globally countries achieving this level of quality attractiveness for talents.
The index also showed widespread use of artificial intelligence in the workplace in Saudi Arabia, where more than (80%) of employees reported using it regularly, surpassing the global average of (58%), reflecting Saudi Arabia's advancement in adopting artificial intelligence applications at the workplace level.
