philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

‘To the Future’: Saudi Arabia Spends Big to Become an A.I. Superpower

... Some question whether Saudi Arabia can become a global tech hub. The kingdom has faced scrutiny for its human rights record, intolerance to homosexuality and brutal heat. But for those in the tech world who descended on Riyadh last month, the concerns seemed secondary to the dizzying amount of deal-making underway. ...

Torn Between Superpowers

Situated along the Red Sea’s turquoise waters, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has become a site of the U.S.-Chinese technological showdown.

The university, known as KAUST, is central to Saudi Arabia’s plans to vault to A.I. leadership. Modeled on universities like Caltech, KAUST ihas brought in foreign A.I. leaders and provided computing resources to build an epicenter for A.I. research. ...

To achieve that aim, KAUST has often turned to China to recruit students and professors and to strike research partnerships, alarming American officials. They fear students and professors from Chinese military-linked universities will use KAUST to sidestep U.S. sanctions and boost China in the race for A.I. supremacy, analysts and U.S. officials said.

Of particular concern is the university’s construction of one of the region’s fastest supercomputers, which needs thousands of microchips made by Nvidia, the biggest maker of precious chips that power A.I. systems. The university’s chip order, with an estimated value of more than $100 million, is being held up by a review from the U.S. government, which must provide an export license before the sale can go through. ...

See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/technology/to-the-future-saudi-arabia-spends-big-to-become-an-ai-superpower.html