Google may not be making as much progress as it should in reaching its environmental goals, but that isn’t stopping the company from building a new data center in Saudi Arabia that will focus on artificial intelligence (AI). This new facility will be particularly important for developing AI technologies that cater to the Arabic language and specific needs within Saudi Arabia.
The announcement about this new AI hub came from both Google and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is a government fund that invests in various projects. The state-owned oil company, Aramco, has already been using AI in its operations, and they’ve reported that this technology has helped increase oil production by 15% at one of their oil fields.
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Back in 2020, Google made a commitment to stop creating software that would help with oil and gas extraction. Additionally, in 2021, the company promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade. A spokesperson for Google mentioned that this new partnership aligns with their existing environmental commitments.
However, neither Google nor the Saudi Public Investment Fund provided details on what “Saudi-specific AI applications” might entail. Given that the oil and gas industry is a major part of Saudi Arabia’s economy, it’s likely that some of the AI technologies developed at this new data center will be used to improve oil and gas production processes.
