Saudi Arabia's ambitious tech leap aims to lead in cyberspace governance

Saudi Arabia does not usually come to one’s attention as a country with advanced scientific and technological capabilities. Its lingering image is that of a semi-feudal, conservative society ruled by a dynastic monarchy. But the reality is starkly different. Over the past seven years, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (commonly known as MBS) became Prime Minister, the kingdom has undergone an unprecedented economic and social transformation, propelling a nation of 34 million into the ranks of modern, technologically advanced, high-income countries.

It is one of the most literate countries in the Gulf region and the world. Fully 98 per cent of its population is literate, including 96 per cent of its female population. Over 90 per cent of its population is urbanised and female participation in its workforce is 36 per cent, higher than in India. It is a one trillion-dollar economy, with a per capita income of $21,000.

Although a large part of its wealth comes from its massive oil reserves and production, MBS has launched a Vision for 2030, which would see its non-oil economy grow much faster, with priority to modern manufacturing, renewable and clean energy, tourism and financial services. Saudi Arabia has the world’s fifth-largest sovereign wealth fund, with over $900 billion in assets under management. This large capital pool is not only providing funds for the ambitious projects under the Vision 2030, but also investing in foreign assets, including in India. The non-oil economy of the country is already 50 per cent of its gross domestic product.

What is worth noting is that Saudi Arabia has gone all out to develop and leverage advanced science and technology to underpin its rapid economic and social transformation. It has heavily invested in its human resources, developing a highly skilled, technologically adept workforce that now includes many highly qualified women professionals. In just a few years, it has risen to rank second, after the US, in the International Telecommunication Union’s international cybersecurity index. Its National Cyber Security Authority enjoys a high reputation internationally. Riyadh has become the destination for an annual Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) and an annual Global Artificial Intelligence Summit.

I attended the fourth GCF this year on October 2 and 3. This was my third appearance at the Forum. I have written about my impressions of the events on two earlier occasions in this newspaper: Change is Afoot in Saudi Arabia (November 15, 2022) and Saudi Arabia’s Cyber Diplomacy (November 16, 2023).

Over the past two years, I have witnessed first-hand some of the remarkable progress the country has made in carving out a niche for itself in the development and application of cutting-edge digital technologies. 

The theme of this year’s GCF was Advancing Collective Action in Cyber Space. There was a consensus at the Forum that cyberspace is a global commons, recognising no national or regional boundaries. Making it a safe and secure space requires a global collaborative response — a difficult ask in today’s highly polarised geopolitical situation. In Riyadh itself, there was an under-current of anxiety with the yearlong Gaza war threatening to engulf Lebanon and potentially the entire region. It was further complicated by the fact that cyber capabilities and now its artificial intelligence (AI) dimension are being developed and applied by a handful of powerful multinational tech companies.

Corporate players are driven by competitive impulses and profit motives. Therefore, the regulation and establishment of “guardrails” by states are inherently problematic. Cyber technologies and AI are developing with a rapidity never experienced before in human history. States are constantly playing catch-up in regulating their application. Corporate entities in this space deflect regulatory efforts by arguing that these efforts must not hinder innovation. AI products like ChatGPT have been released into the market without making certain that their misuse is minimised. The former US National Cyber Security Director, Chris Inglis, stressed this in his remarks at the Forum.

He said that cyberspace was “fragile”, and  that in the accelerated development of cyber technologies and AI, resilience and safety had been neglected. As a result, in both cyber and AI space, he said, the “attackers” were winning against the “defenders.” 

I was in a plenary panel on cyber diplomacy together with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Abdel Al-Jubeir, and the former Director General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy.  While acknowledging the difficulty of pursuing multilateral approaches to ensure that cyber capabilities were leveraged for accelerated economic development, particularly of the Global South, it was nevertheless agreed that even across the geopolitical divide, it may be possible to craft cooperative approaches to protecting children in cyberspace and promoting gender equality. The fact that at the recent UN Summit for the Future, a Global Digital Compact had been adopted by consensus, was considered a hopeful sign.

On the question of public-private partnership to maintain a proper balance between innovation and regulation, I argued that corporate entities would always resist regulation and governmental controls. The objectives of the state, which must safeguard and promote the best interests of its citizens, are not aligned with a private corporate entity, which is driven by the profit motive and always endeavouring to stay ahead of its competitors. Even if private-public partnership is necessary, I said, the state must remain in the driving seat.

What did one take away from the Forum?

The speed of technological advancement in cyberspace is outstripping the ability of states to exercise due diligence and prevent widespread misuse, including criminal exploitation. The inherently competitive nature of international politics and of corporate behaviour makes collective approaches anaemic. The threat we confront is becoming existential even if, concurrently, the potential for accelerated growth has greatly expanded.

Cyberspace and AI have created a “flat world”, with rapid diffusion of even the most sophisticated technologies. There are several countries of the Global South that already possess advanced capabilities in these domains. Unlike in the past, they now have the agency to lead initiatives promoting global governance of cyberspace through empowered multilateral institutions. The UN is the only platform that has the universality and the legitimacy to attempt this. But the lead must come from countries like India and Saudi Arabia.

The author is a former foreign secretary