First Arabic-Speaking Robot – Sara, Powered by Artificial Intelligence, Unveiled in Saudi Arabia at the LEAP Conference 2023
Syed Imran Haider 
Saudi Arabia has unveiled the first Arabic-speaking robot named Sara. The AI-powered robot can speak Arabic in numerous dialects, respond to queries, and perform different dances. Sara was the center of attention of visitors who attended the LEAP23 conference at the KSA’s Digital Pavilion in Riyadh.
The AI-powered robot comprises a built-in camera that recognizes people standing in front of the robot by employing Artificial Intelligence. The phrase ‘Hello Sara’ will prompt it to start a conversation with the visitor.
Sara consists of a pre-trained model that can recognize numerous dialects of the Arabic language from within Saudi Arabia. The robot can analyze sentences and understand content to provide visitors with the appropriate answer in the text form.
Sara – a Prominent Feature of LEAP 2023
The world’s most visionary tech event -LEAP 2023, began on 6 February at the Front Expo Center of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It displayed numerous outstanding features, and Sara – the AI-powered robot, was one of them. Zoom, Aramco, and Snap were some tech companies that sent their representatives to hold exhibitions. While the second edition of the technology conference ended on 9 February 2023, it became a headline because of the first Arabic-speaking robot.
The LEAP Conference 2023
Oracle – the cloud computing service, announced the beginning of the LEAP conference, aiming to invest $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia. In 2022, the event accumulated a massive investment of $6.4 billion in the Kingdom, which strives to streamline its economy.
The event will have over seventy speakers from fifty countries and exhibitors like Ericsson, Mastercard, Google, and NEOM. The CEO of the special administrative region of Hong Kong, Mr. John Lee, is also a part of the participants in LEAD 2023.
The Information Technology, the Ministry of communications of Saudi Arabia, and a strategic joint venture – Tahaluf are the organizers of the LEAP for this year. They anticipate more than 100,000 people to attend the conference.
The KSA worked in the artificial intelligence and global data sectors in conjunction with DeepFest to enhance its game-changer status. Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority held a co-located event – DeepFest, alongside the LEAP 2023.
The opening of DeepFest has brought the worldwide drivers of the Artificial Intelligence ecosystem to reveal multi-sector initiatives in a 3-day conference. The thought-leadership conference has startup pitches, live demos, training, and tricks related to specific sectors.
The theme for the DeepFest conference is AI Beyond Imagination, which focuses on Artificial Intelligence implementation in the fields like the Metaverse, clean tech, robotics, and women in technology. It is a dedicated exhibition that features organizations aiming to transform today’s world. Many celebrity guests like Charles Puyol and Will.i.am are among those people active in the tech industry.
Saudi Arabia has decided to put itself at the tech forefront through determined pilot and large-scale acceptance. It will showcase its ambition – the ambition of LEAP, on a global stage, making the KSA a hub that could connect three diverse continents. The seismic event will further accelerate the acceptance of technology and transform KSA’s economy.
