Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani with Their Excellencies Ministers and other dignitaries at the inauguration of World Summit AI yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is moving towards a comprehensive digital transformation by investing in the fields of technology, innovation and artificial intelligence.
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani inaugurated the Arabic Artificial Intelligence Large Language Model (LLM) Fanar during the inauguration of the World Summit AI (WSAI) at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, yesterday.
The summit themed ‘Putting Humanity at the Heart of AI’ was attended by a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers and senior officials. Innovators, leaders and AI enthusiasts gathered to exchange ideas and shape the future of AI at the event which runs for two days.
Fanar is a groundbreaking model developed to achieve an in-depth understanding of Arabic in all its dimensions, encompassing diverse dialects and cultural expressions. It is built on an extensive database of more than 300 billion words and over a trillion Arabic phonetic segments, enabling creative ability to generate, write, summarize, rephrase, or explain texts with exceptional efficiency. With advanced technical architecture comprising seven billion parameters, it ensures flexible and rapid data processing.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai noted the Fanar project represents a remarkable achievement that reflects Qatar’s commitment to enhancing the presence of the Arabic language and the Arabic and Islamic culture in the AI age.
It comes as a result of fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs
H E Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani with Their Excellencies Ministers and other dignitaries at the inauguration of World Summit AI yesterday.
“The Fanar project exemplifies Qatar’s commitment to supporting research projects and transforming them into strategic governmental initiatives that position Qatar as a leader in artificial intelligence and modern technologies. Fanar is not merely a digital project, but a comprehensive vision aimed at creating a global impact,” he said
It is an ambitious initiative that seeks to empower the Arab community with advanced tools that respect our cultural identity and contribute to achieving the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Minister Al Mannai extended gratitude to Qatar Foundation and the Qatar Computing Research Institute for their outstanding efforts in developing this ambitious project.
Meanwhile President of Hamad Bin Khalifa University Dr. Ahmad Hasnah said, “In line with Qatar National Vision 2030, Fanar is a further reflection of our university’s commitment to developing responses to challenges of national and global relevance which enhance the country’s prowess in the field of AI and related technologies based on the Arabic language. This can only be achieved by actively leveraging synergies with renowned partners like MCIT to facilitate expertise and build capacity in Qatar and the region.”
The CEO and Founder of InspiredMinds Sarah Porter and Executive Director of Qatar Computing Research Institute Dr. Ahmed Elmagarmid delivered the opening remarks
The summit focused on discussing the pivotal issues related to the uses of AI and highlighted four key areas, including responsible governance, generative AI, accelerating the adoption of AI in various sectors, and integration of AI technologies with human life.
With nearly 3,000 tickets sold and international attendees making up 44% of the audience, the summit reflects its global stature.
The programme includes 76 speakers addressing over seven topics across four stages, with three keynote speakers delivering unique insights on the future of AI. The event is supported by 27 sponsors and contributors and showcases innovations from 25 startups.
The ‘Fanar Booth’ organised by MCIT, attracted significant interest by offering interactive experience with the ‘Fanar’ platform. Visitors explored the platforms capabilities and were invited to provide feedback to improve future iterations, reflecting Qatar’s commitment to supporting the Arabic language and fostering innovative technologies that promote Arabic cultural and linguistic identity on a global scale.
