In a race that is reshaping the global power map, the Middle East is no longer merely an arena for traditional conflicts, but has become a stage for competition over the most valuable resources of the 21st century: data and technological sovereignty. It is no longer simply about transitioning away from an oil-based economy, but about escaping a new form of dependency and forging a unique socio-technological contract. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are leading this wave amid a frantic race, attempting to reconcile their ambitious digital aspirations with internal challenges, under the shadow of shifting strategic partnerships with the United States, especially during Trump’s second term. The Middle East's experience with artificial intelligence is creating a unique hybrid model that combines censorship, social control, and extreme technological capitalism, under the umbrella of distinctive alliances of interest. Saudi Arabia stands out as a strategic player, seeking to use artificial intelligence as a tool for economic transformation and to enhance regional influence, in the face of ethical and existential challenges that may determine its success in becoming a sovereign technological power.

The technological theatre of operations and the illusion of numbers

The figures indicate rapid adoption: the UAE has surpassed 60% in adopting AI solutions, and Saudi Arabia expects the sector to contribute 12% of its GDP by 2030. However, deeper analysis reveals a different story. A large part of Emirati "adoption" relies on importing ready-made solutions from American technology giants (Big Tech), creating a new technological dependency that replaces oil dependency. The most concerning gap is the "value gap". Despite the proliferation of projects, studies indicate that only 11% generate real and sustainable business value, suggesting poor integration with legacy systems and an organizational culture that favours large-scale, showy projects over practical, incremental solutions.

Vision Saudi Arabia: challenges of building a national model

Led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the Kingdom has launched its updated National Strategy 2025 and invested more than $20 billion, most notably through the MGX fund, valued at $100 billion. However, the real test lies in the ambitious "Human" project. Here, a fundamental question arises: Is "Human" merely an Arabic adaptation of Western models, or is it an attempt to build artificial intelligence that genuinely reflects the cultural and linguistic context of the region? If Saudi Arabia succeeds, this will represent the first model for liberation from "digital colonialism" and cultural bias in Western models. Announcements at the LEAP 2025 conference, valued at $14.9 billion, and partnerships with companies such as AMD demonstrate the determination, but also highlight the ongoing need for external chips and expertise.

Artificial Intelligence in energy - the existential dilemma and the bridge to the future

The fundamental paradox here lies in the depth of the challenges. Advanced artificial intelligence technologies are used to extract the last drop of oil with record efficiency (as in Aramco, where downtime was reduced by 20%), while at the same time serving as a crucial tool for the transition to a green economy and achieving the net-zero target by 2060. Meanwhile, giant data centres, such as those of "Human", consume enormous amounts of power, which raises challenges regarding environmental gains.

American links and the big tech deal

The 2025 agreements between Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration on critical minerals and nuclear cooperation are not just commercial partnerships, but a complex geopolitical trade-off. For the United States securing a vast market for civilian nuclear technologies and artificial intelligence chips, and increasing leverage against China. For Saudi Arabia: acquiring advanced technology and a guarantee of security. In return, however, there is a deepening dependence on technology and a commitment to political alliances that do not change with the shifting political winds in Washington.

Artificial intelligence in healthcare and public services: between efficiency and oversight

The region has seen a boom in remote diagnostics and personalized medicine. However, artificial intelligence in healthcare is generating a massive amount of "vital data", the most sensitive of all. In the absence of robust legal frameworks like those in Europe (the GDPR), serious questions arise about who owns this data and how it can be used. Could it become a tool for discrimination in employment or insurance, or even for social control? The cyberattack success rate (40%) highlights the inherent vulnerability.

Public services and community engineering in NEOM

This highlights the great strategic importance of the NEOM project. It is not just a smart city; it is the world's largest living laboratory for mass surveillance (facial recognition, emotion analysis) and centralized control. While it promises to improve quality of life, it raises a profound philosophical question: Is the goal to serve the citizen, or to re-engineer the very concept of citizenship? Beyond the technology bubble seen in neighbouring countries, there is a direct threat to labour markets and jobs.

A roadmap for technological sovereignty: flexible Middle Eastern model

Diagnosing problems is not enough; true leadership lies in offering an alternative model and a practical roadmap for turning challenges into opportunities, according to a specific plan and set of steps. The most prominent of these are breaking the cycle of technological dependency by building strategic manufacturing partnerships and entering into alliances to build complementary chip factories in the region. These would focus on specialized chips for processing local languages or low-power artificial intelligence, in collaboration with partners from Europe and Japan. In addition, investing in open-source and developing local capabilities based on open-source platforms would reduce reliance on proprietary software. There is also the model of building sovereign human capital, which is based on a cooperative education system that integrates computational thinking and digital ethics from the secondary level, culminating in transforming universities into applied research centers linked to projects like NEOM. The National Professional Transformation Fund, financed by an "automation tax" on companies, aims to retrain the threatened workforce. "Technical citizenship" attracts global talent through exceptional incentives.

Establishing sound ethical governance

  1. independent regulatory bodies: establish independent artificial intelligence and ethics bodies, comprising global and local experts to review major government projects.

  2. "right to explain" legislation: require companies and government institutions to explain how they make AI decisions that affect individuals.

  3. regional privacy certificates: grant certificates to products that adhere to the highest data protection standards, creating a global competitive advantage.

Achieving environmental and strategic balance

  1. "climate AI fund": funded by oil revenues, this fund focuses research on solutions to reduce emissions and promote renewable energy.

  2. smart technological pluralism strategy: cooperate with Europe on governance and with Asia on robotics, while maintaining open but limited channels with China to avoid being confined to a single alliance.

Civilizational choice

The race in the Middle East is not just to implement artificial intelligence technologies, but to design its philosophy. Leaders have two choices:

  1. toolpath: where artificial intelligence becomes a sophisticated tool to enhance efficiency, control, and consumption, with the technological core and critical thinking remaining external.

  2. model Pathway: where countries invest in achieving full AI sovereignty, from ethical design to micro- manufacturing to cultural export. Success will be measured by the region's ability to provide a model for the developing world that combines technological efficiency, cultural sensitivity, and good governance.

If Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states can lead this path, they will not only transform from rentier states to knowledge-based economies, but also become intellectual hubs that offer a compelling answer to the most pressing question of our time: How do we build a smart future that preserves both humanity and sovereignty? That is the real challenge. The rest is technical detail.