Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Bahrain: Challenges and Opportunities

In October 2019, HM King Hamad of Bahrain declared the need for a national plan to ensure full readiness to deal with the digitaldigital economy, by adopting and employing artificial intelligenceintelligence technologytechnology. BahrainBahrain has a considerable financial sector, several large telecom, and energyenergy companies, and is hosting a major regional cloud computing center. It has also started a drive toward entrepreneurshipentrepreneurship and IT start-ups, with several active incubators and accelerators. However, developing the national capacity for utilizing the promise of AI requires a strategic approach that utilizes existing resources as well as introduces missing key elements. This chapter investigates the role of key stakeholdersstakeholder within the Kingdom of Bahrain in building a strategy for utilizing AI for economic growth. Active stakeholders include the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Information and eGovernment Authority, the research and higher educationeducation sector, as well as major industry representatives such as telecom, as well as energyenergy and aluminum companies. A strategy framework is then constructed, which engages all stakeholdersstakeholder to ensure key elements necessary for the success of AI nationally. The elements include an overview of the current use of AI in BahrainBahrain, the current state of access to data, the state of research and development in AI and its commercialization, capacity building and supply of skillsskill in AI through higher educationeducation, and the support for AI adoption within the economic and financial organizations.