The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) recently announced that its ALLaM model, which generates Arabic text, has been included in IBM’s Watsonx platform. This announcement was made at the IBM Think event in Boston, highlighting ALLaM’s advanced technical capabilities. The model underwent rigorous testing during its experimental phase to ensure it could compete with other models on Watsonx, a widely-used platform by developers globally. Currently available in a trial version, ALLaM’s inclusion in Watsonx allows for further professional evaluation and testing to accelerate the launch of its full capabilities in Arabic language generation.
The inclusion of ALLaM aligns with the SDAIA’s mission to promote the Arabic language regionally and globally, with a focus on enriching Arabic content in various fields like technical, cultural, literary, and scientific domains. This initiative also aims to leverage AI technologies to foster cultural diversity and benefit all humanity, in line with Saudi Vision 2030’s goal of becoming a global leader in advanced technologies including AI.
ALLaM is the first AI system developed in Saudi Arabia that can answer user questions in Arabic about different domains of knowledge. The model is trained with a vast Arabic language dataset, one of the largest in the world, and supplemented with English content to ensure comprehensive responses. Users can query in text or audio format, and ALLaM will respond based on reliable sources in the Kingdom and the Arab world.
The collaboration between SDAIA and IBM in developing the ALLaM model is seen as a significant milestone in advancing Arabic-language applications in generative AI. IBM Saudi Arabia’s Regional Vice President, Ayman Al-Rashed, emphasized how this partnership unlocks the potential of Arabic language models for both public and private sectors, meeting the cultural needs of the region. He also noted that companies can use these models to innovate and develop new services, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a leader in AI technology tailored to the regional market.
The announcement at the IBM Think event was attended by artificial intelligence experts, technicians, innovators, company presidents, and policymakers. Overall, the inclusion of ALLaM in IBM’s Watsonx platform marks a major step forward in advancing Arabic language generation in the field of AI, supporting the broader goals of promoting the Arabic language and leveraging technology to benefit society.
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