MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East

23/01/2025

Gen AI holds immense promise for the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations, yet few organizations in the region are capitalizing on its full potential. Despite widespread interest and early investments, many organizations remain stuck in the pilot phase, according to a recent McKinsey & Company survey conducted in partnership with the GCC Board Directors Institute.

“Many organizations find it easy to develop and run pilots,” explains Karan Soni, Associate Partner at QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey. “Pilots can operate within limited parts of an organization with fewer stakeholders and simpler technology requirements. But scaling demands reimagining the use case, technology, workflows, data, and organizational culture simultaneously.”

A survey by McKinsey revealed that while 74% of GCC organizations are using Gen AI in at least one function, only 7% reported deriving more than 5% of their earnings from the technology.

15/01/2025

The white paper, Leveraging Actionable Gen AI In The Middle East, published by MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East in collaboration with Astra Tech, provides valuable insights into user interactions with AI-powered features.

Key findings from the survey reveal the primary ways users interact with AI-powered features:

𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥: Nearly half (46.67%) of users utilize AI to access information, emphasizing its vital role in knowledge dissemination.

𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: A significant 33.33% engage AI for customer service, underscoring its growing presence in everyday business and consumer interactions.

Talking about the white paper, Hassan Alnoon, Senior Vice President Tech, Astra Tech said, “The findings from this whitepaper highlight the immense potential AI holds for transforming industries in the Middle East. By gathering feedback on best practices, user experiences, and the specific needs of the Middle East market, this whitepaper provides a localized perspective that addresses cultural sensitivities and compliance, ensuring that our AI initiatives are both impactful and sustainable.”

06/01/2025

The Middle East presents a fascinating picture of AI adoption. While a significant portion of companies (27.63%) are still in the exploration phase, a strong showing (36.84%) has begun initial adoption. This indicates a growing awareness of AI's potential and a willingness to experiment with its capabilities. Interestingly, a smaller but noteworthy group (13.16%) already achieved deep integration, suggesting a forward-thinking approach in specific sectors.

In the white paper, Leveraging Actionable Gen AI In The Middle East, MIT SMR Middle East, in collaboration with Astra Tech, explores the transformative opportunities presented by Large Language Models/Small Language Models and Large Action Models and examines how businesses in the Middle East are leveraging these AI models to gain a competitive edge.

Click on the link below to download the report.

The white paper, Leveraging Actionable Gen AI In The Middle East, provides a localized perspective addressing cultural sensitivities and compliance in the region.

23/12/2024

As businesses grapple with unprecedented challenges—from technological disruption to shifting workforce expectations—leaders play an important role in shaping environments that inspire creativity and adaptability. The task is profoundly strategic: how can companies build workplaces that align with their ambitions while nurturing the very people who will make those ambitions a reality?

In this exclusive web series, Ali Al Mansoori, Group Chief People Officer of e& shares his thoughts on the future of work, the challenges of fostering innovation, and the importance of building people-centric organizations.

16/12/2024

In the second episode of More than Meets the AI—titled "Is the Middle East AI-Ready?"— Dr. Akram Awad, Managing Director & Partner and Global Lead for Smart Cities at BCG and Noor Sweid, Founder and Managing Partner at Global Ventures explore the region’s preparedness for AI, examining key factors such as talent development, investment trends, emerging use cases, and regulation. They delve into the critical steps required to unlock AI's full potential and discuss how the Middle East can position itself as a leader in the global AI ecosystem.

This exclusive web series is produced in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group.

13/12/2024

In this interview for MIT SMR Voices, Albert Phelps, Co-founder of Tomoro.ai, discusses how leveraging human communication skills in prompt engineering maximizes AI potential, enhances collaboration, and drives enterprise innovation.

Prompt engineering plays a key role in unlocking the full potential of large language models (LLMs) in business settings.

12/12/2024

How ready is the Middle East to harness AI's vast potential, and what steps are needed to overcome challenges?

In the second episode of More than Meets the AI, BCG’s Dr. Akram Awad and Noor Sweid of Global Ventures explore the region’s preparedness for AI. They examine key factors such as talent development, investment trends, emerging use cases, and regulation in this in-depth discussion.

This exclusive web series is produced in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group.

Stay tuned!

11/12/2024

Today’s CDOs are no longer confined to managing data assets; they are tasked with driving cross-functional collaboration and leading initiatives that translate data into strategic value across the organization. As the architect of data strategy, the CDO bridges the gap between data management, analytics, and business objectives, ensuring that data becomes a strategic asset rather than just a byproduct.

The Chief Data Officer's (CDO) role has evolved from data oversight to leading transformation, with strategic leadershi and collaboration.

29/11/2024

With projections estimating AI’s economic impact to reach as much as $15 trillion by 2030—rivaling the GDP of China or the EU—it’s clear that the technology will play a transformative role in the global economy. But how will businesses harness this potential, and what challenges must they overcome to unlock AI's full value?

In the inaugural episode of More than Meets the AI, Neil Thompson, Director of the FutureTech Project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science & AI Lab, and Faisal Hamady, Managing Director & Partner at BCG, tackle these pressing questions. Together, they explore the future of AI, AGI, and the role of global collaboration.

The exclusive web series is created in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group.

26/11/2024

More than Meets the AI—a web series tailored for top executives and decision-makers in the Middle East, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group.

In the inaugural episode, Neil Thompson, Director of the FutureTech Project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Computer Science & AI Lab, and Faisal Hamady, Managing Director & Partner at BCG, will explore the transformative potential of AI, AGI, and the future of technology, addressing critical themes such as data integration and global collaboration.

The first episode goes live on November 28. Stay tuned for the full interview!

25/11/2024

The first step for organizations is to “develop a clear AI strategy” that aligns with their business objectives while ensuring it remains “agile” to adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of AI.

At the heart of this strategy is establishing a robust data repository—organizations must have clean, high-quality data and a solid data governance strategy to maintain data integrity and usability.

In this interview, Michel Ghorayeb, Managing Director of SAS Software UAE, shares key insights on fostering an AI-driven culture and the strategies organizations can adopt to successfully integrate AI and analytics into their operations.

Michel Ghorayeb, Managing Director of SAS UAE, shares insights on fostering an AI-driven culture and strategies for integrating AI and analytics into organizational operations.

18/11/2024

In conversation with MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East, Mamoun Alamouri 🇵🇸🍉, Regional VP-MEA at Uniphore, talks about overcoming AI project failures by managing expectation gaps, fostering an adaptable culture, leveraging unstructured data, and implementing intelligent automation that enhances customer experience without compromising brand integrity.

15/11/2024

Salvador Anglada, the CEO e& enterprise discusses how the company supports organizations in setting sustainability goals, measuring impacts, and utilizing AI to enhance and accelerate their efforts.

01/11/2024

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is making significant advancements in computer vision research. At GITEX Global 2024, the university presented its latest developments, demonstrating AI’s potential to enhance efficiency and open new opportunities in various sectors.

Dr. Salman Khan, Associate Professor at MBZUAI, delved into the intricacies of computer vision and its significant role within the broader AI ecosystem.

Computer vision is all about understanding the vast visual data we encounter in our world and automating its analysis with machines.

01/10/2024

Key industry leaders discuss strategies, challenges, and use cases for integrating genAI in the public sector by private players.

Read more: https://www.mitsloanme.com/article/how-genai-is-redefining-public-sector-efficiency-in-the-middle-east/

26/08/2024

For one, legacy systems are called “legacy” for a reason—they’re the foundational structures on which modern technologies are built, proven reliable, and trusted over time. So, why is there a sudden rush to embrace Generative AI (GenAI), a technology that’s only recently begun to dominate the conversation? The answer isn’t black and white for organizations heavily invested in existing infrastructure. Finding the right path forward requires careful consideration, especially when so much is at stake.

According to the Lucidworks report, 58% of manufacturing leaders plan to increase AI spending in 2024, down from 93% in 2023. One of the most significant barriers to widespread adoption is trust in the accuracy of AI-driven recommendations. The report found that 44% of manufacturers have concerns about response accuracy.

Experts believe tempering the excitement with a grounded understanding of the technology’s current limitations and potential is essential.

Tredence Inc. | Al-Futtaim | Databricks

Experts emphasize that understanding when and where to deploy Legacy AI and Gen AI is crucial for achieving sustainable success.

22/08/2024

Outsourcing specialist VFS Global processes visa, passport, and consular data for 68 governments across 3,442 centers in 153 countries. Depending on the client, the job requires collecting names, email addresses, income levels, or biometric details and then passing these on to the respective government.

The company handles one terabyte of data annually, or about 292 million applications.

While most of the personal information is transferred to clients’ systems, the company maintains strong privacy measures, says Rocio Avila, Data Protection Officer at VFS Global. She says that each government requires different data types to be collected and processed. “It’s important to remember that we are in an evolving scenario where we’re speaking about privacy, privacy legislation, and privacy requirements across the globe,” she says.

The multinational nature of its work requires its offices to comply with local laws in each jurisdiction, with specific rules around cross-border transfers.

Effectively enforcing data privacy laws is challenging due to a lack of clear implementation guidelines and resources.

09/08/2024

AI's "black box" nature often evokes a sense of mystery and complexity, but breaking it down reveals a structure rooted in mathematical principles and data processing, according to Neil Thompson, Director of the FutureTech Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science & AI Lab. Thompson shared these insights during a keynote session at the hashtag .

KNOWLEDGE PARTNER: ‪BCG
GOLD SPONSOR: Astra Tech

AI's "black box" nature often evokes a sense of mystery and complexity, but breaking it down reveals a structure rooted in mathematical principles and data p...