Areas of work
The Lab organises its research, data and capacity building in eight areas. Each page opens with its key messages, followed by interactive figures and the full table.
- Regulatory and legal frameworks
Ten national strategies and nine dedicated bodies; a standalone AI law is still to come.
- AI readiness and digital government
Saudi Arabia moved from rank 52 to rank 6 on the UN e-government index in six years.
- AI research and publications
Scientific output and regulatory capacity do not develop in step.
- Digital infrastructure
Connectivity has expanded faster than the frameworks that govern AI.
- AI, culture and communication
Five states build Arabic language models; seventeen use systems built elsewhere.
- Governance typology
States classified on authority structure, regulatory approach, enforcement, sovereignty posture and alignment.
- Human capital and capacity
Human capital fell in half of the states with data between 2018 and 2024.
- Cybersecurity
Five states score above 94 on the ITU index; eight score below 36.
Open the data explorer to rank and compare states on any indicator.