The recent unveiling of Allam, Saudi Arabia’s homegrown Arabic Large Language Model (LLM), marks a significant milestone in the region’s ambition to become a creator, not just a consumer, of artificial intelligence. However, experts caution that while Allam is a crucial first step, the long-term success of Arabic AI will depend on building the invisible foundations that support it: high-quality local data, sovereign infrastructure, and robust governance.
The Data Dilemma Thinking Natively In Arabic
Global AI models often fail to capture the deep linguistic and cultural nuances of the Arabic language. David Barber, Director of the UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence, notes that systems must “think in Arabic from the ground up” rather than rely on translation. This presents a significant data challenge, as only about 15 percent of Arabic text online is clean enough for training an LLM, compared to over 50 percent for English. The complexities of Arabic grammar, its diverse dialects, and the common mixing of Arabic and English further complicate the training process, risking the creation of shallow models that mimic fluency but lack true understanding.
Infrastructure And The Sovereignty Imperative
Beyond data, the infrastructure that supports AI is a critical concern. Seema Alidily, Regional Director at Denodo, points out that Gulf enterprises often have data scattered across numerous cloud and on-site systems. She advocates for data virtualization to unify governance and access without moving sensitive information, ensuring compliance with strict regional data regulations.
This ties into the larger issue of AI sovereignty. Bader AlBahaian, Country Manager for Saudi Arabia at VAST Data, argues for “sovereign-by-design” systems where sensitive data remains within national borders and is governed by local rules. He warns that relying on external platforms means importing foreign policies and priorities, which could expose the region to economic or political risks. True sovereignty means defining how data is used and who is accountable.
From Models To Action Deploying Digital Labor
Ultimately, the value of AI lies in its real-world application. Ibrahim Alseghayr, Managing Director of Salesforce Saudi Arabia, highlights the transformative potential of “Agentic AI” and “Digital Labor”—systems that can act on a company’s behalf to automate routine work and deepen customer relationships. In Saudi Arabia, this technology could be instrumental in scaling mega-projects like Neom and delivering smarter public services. However, Alseghayr cautions that this power must be managed with strong governance, rigorous testing, and continuous oversight to build and maintain public trust.
About Allam
Allam is a homegrown Arabic Large Language Model (LLM) developed by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA). It is designed to understand and process the Arabic language with its diverse dialects and cultural nuances natively, rather than relying on translation from English-based models. Its development marks a significant step in the Kingdom’s goal of achieving AI sovereignty and building technologies that reflect local values and contexts.
Source: Arab News
