Unveiling the visionary: Exclusive interview with AI trailblazer Dr Fatmah A Baothman, pioneering modern artificial intelligence in the Middle East

JAMMU: Esteemed readers and technology enthusiasts, brace yourselves for a captivating glimpse into the remarkable journey and insights of a trailblazer in the world of Artificial Intelligence and technology in the Middle East. We are delighted to present an exclusive online interview conducted by Ajmer Alam Wani, Editor-in-Chief of JK Monitor, (www.jkmonitor.org), with Dr. Fatmah A Baothman, a visionary and groundbreaker who has left an indelible mark on the global technology landscape in the Middle East.

In the realm of cutting-edge technology and visionary leadership, one name shines with extraordinary brilliance – Dr Fatmah A Baothman stands as a monumental figure, heralding a new era of technological innovation and societal transformation in the Middle East. As the Founder & Board President of AI Society Saudi Arabia, her journey has been one of unparalleled dedication, innovation, and groundbreaking achievements.

Dr. Fatmah A Baothman's journey to becoming a global AI luminary is characterized by numerous pioneering milestones. Graduating with a Ph.D. in Modern Artificial Intelligence from the University of Huddersfield, UK, she etched her name in history as the first woman in the Middle East to achieve such a feat. Her academic prowess was further honored with a coveted place on the University's Alumni Roll of Honor, a testament to her exceptional contributions to the field.

A string of prestigious accolades soon followed, each underscoring her relentless pursuit of excellence. In 2019, Dr. Baothman's unwavering commitment to AI innovation earned her the distinguished honor of being the First Women Winner of the AI Prize from VB-USA and CC-UK, with a focus on blockchain and AI integration. Her indomitable spirit and unmatched expertise earned her a place among the "100 International Ladies for AI Ethics" in 2020, solidifying her status as a global thought leader in the AI domain.

Beyond accolades, Dr. Fatmah A Baothman has been instrumental in reshaping technological landscapes and inspiring change at multiple levels. As an Associate Professor, she took the bold step of founding the Computer Science Department, an initiative that would lay the foundation for innovation within the education sector. Her vision also led to the establishment of the Saudi Engineering Committee for Women, a pioneering effort that paved the way for the creation of engineering colleges in the western region, enabling countless women to excel in the field.

Dr. Baothman's commitment to empowerment is further exemplified by her establishment of the first Women IEEE Chapter at King Abdulaziz University, breaking gender barriers and creating an avenue for women to flourish in the tech world. Her impact has resonated beyond academia and into the heart of the AI industry, as she is the mastermind behind the formation of the AI Society. As its Founder & Board President, she continues to steer this organization towards groundbreaking advancements, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

In her illustrious career, Dr. Fatmah A Baothman has seamlessly navigated between academia and industry, collaborating with industry giants such as Apple and Cisco to spearhead their entry into the Saudi market. Her contributions extend to the international arena, where she played a pivotal role in shaping diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Austria, as well as Germany, setting the benchmark for strategic cooperation programs.

A true visionary, Dr. Baothman's insights into the future of AI are as profound as her accomplishments. She believes that AI is the driving force behind the impending global transformation, poised to revolutionize every facet of human existence. Envisioning AI's positive impact on governments, businesses, and individuals across sectors like healthcare, education, finance, and more, she anticipates a future of unprecedented possibilities.

As a member of the Global Future Council on the Future of AI and the digital agenda for the G20 Presidency, Dr. Baothman's influence extends to shaping policies and strategies that will guide AI's trajectory. Her passion for AI ethics, combined with her vast experience, positions her as a guiding light in navigating the complexities of AI's future.

In a world teeming with technological advancements, Dr. Fatmah A Baothman stands as a beacon of innovation, empowerment, and transformative leadership. Her journey is a testament to the power of relentless determination and visionary thinking, shaping the landscape of AI and propelling humanity towards a future that is not only technologically advanced but also ethically and socially progressive.

For the detailed interview, read questions and answers below till end:

1. In your role as a Member of the Global Future Council on the Future of Artificial Intelligence by the WEF, how do you envision AI shaping the world in the next decade, and what specific areas do you believe will experience the most transformative impact?

Answer: AI will lead the global transformation force to a higher level of generative civilization in the next decade; its impact will hit strongly in multiple directions, changing the way we live, replicate, grow, learn, work, communicate, move, and many more. AI will positively influence governments, businesses, and individuals in many specific sectors, such as healthcare, education, finance, transportation, chemistry, agriculture, defense, gene editing, innovation, arts, music, and research, including the creation of new types of emergent science as well as new worlds. While AI’s negative effects and risks will continuously grow, it will be monitored and supervised by the future government and worlds' organizations.

The future intelligent government will take us on a new journey of collective intelligence at a higher speed than we can imagine, ensuring the long-term existence of intelligent government, smart innovative businesses, and cooperative citizens’ productivity. AI will change our experience of e-government, enhance autonomous i-security, bring educational freedom, balance health/food security, and improve diversity. For future i-government, AI can support productivity, growth and economic prosperity involving different types of citizens, such as e-citizens, i-citizen, virtual citizens, digital citizens, augmented-citizens, cyborgs, robot citizens, and perhaps a combination of all-natural populations. Deploying AI in a dynamic ecosystem integrated with human agents as a service, infrastructure, and hardware might eliminate the need for manufacturing specific devices such as television and mobile devices, especially those with ubiquitous computing, built-in intelligent materials, and increasing i-commerce, i-industry, and i-money. Efficient agents’ cooperation in an open AI ecosystem connecting all types of citizens in the x-dimensional world would assist in handling, preventing, and recovering from risk at an earlier stage. For example, in the case of future pandemic attacks, we may send the digital citizen version ahead of us to check the level of environmental infection, which can be offered as an AI future government service. There is no doubt that AI will add values to the role of future i-government.

For future intelligent governments, we may consider adding a new measure such as a global generative economic prosperity and growth index, which can lead to actionable AI services that guarantee improved government-to-government cooperation, equal government service to all citizens, support environmental/human civilization security, health and natural food security, educational security, social/growth security, and diversity inclusion. Such an index is also expected to ensure economic acceleration and recovery in case of any future risk; generate smart governance where needed; address privacy, bias, transparency, and accountability; solve unemployment issues; and empower women leading in smart environments. It is essential to consider the variation in AI adoption among governments. However, such a dynamic automated generative index is capable of aligning the unparallel evolutionary growth among the different versions of i-government x.n, i-economy x.0, i-industry x.x, and i-society x.5, which could drive self-leverage economic growth. Aristoteles Said, “The beginning is half of the whole,” and I add, "An innovative version of the Turing test is required here and now".

2.     With your extensive background in AI and technology strategy, could you share a challenging situation you faced while advising on AI implementation for a business? How did you navigate through it, and what valuable lessons did you learn from that experience?

Answer: The most challenging situation was faced when business management considered developing an AI strategy for sustainability and growth, but the IT team resisted this because of the misconception that AI would replace all of them instantly and that it is only suitable for implementation in big companies. To deal with this situation, it is essential to engage in transparent communication with every individual and introduce an educational session explaining how AI can deal with uncertainty and complex dynamic situations that require predictions and foresight to help businesses operate under secure conditions supported by continuous learning with a focus on value principle designs and showcases of IT limitations.

Fortunately, the IT team was convinced to start with a use case that they picked up, and I worked with them side by side to prove the benefits and show them how AI supported them in the areas they needed, which are considered the most hectic and complex, illustrating how saving time, increasing money, and sharing sophisticated AI resources can help. The significant value lesson learned is that proper communication, followed by appropriate education and examples, supported by use case implementation, is a suitable pathway not only to build understanding, skills, and confidence but also to drive the challenging cultural changes associated with AI.

3.     As an AI expert, you have a wide range of technical interests, including blockchain, e-Learning, Arabic Speech Recognition, data mining, IOTs, data mining, robotics, and AI ethics. How do you see the convergence of these technologies contributing to solving real-world problems, and what potential applications excite you the most?

Answer: The wide range of technical interests was the result of my enthusiasm to discover and explore AI’s limitations and capabilities in solving complex real-life problems and to enrich my experience by practicing and gaining more knowledge in addition to supporting others.

It is difficult to list all the combinations of the above-mentioned technologies contributing to 256 real-world problems, but I hope that by selecting some cases, it is sufficient to show how convergence is achieved. For example, robotics, Arabic Speech Recognition, and e-learning can be combined to improve the cognitive level of the child and elevate the child's ability in mathematics (see, the paper, an intelligent big-data management system using Haar algorithm-based Nao agent multisensory communication), and (see, the paper, Decision Support System Tool for Arabic Text Recognition) to help transfer students to change their major or institution before, and during the process of equivalency, courses to get the results in no time.

The convergence of blockchain and AI can help solve supply chain management, tracking, e-voting, food distribution, and recycling problems in the case of airline food waste reduction (see, the paper a comparative analysis of blockchain technology to support digital transformation in ports and shipping) and (see, the paper, Computational Intelligence Approach for Municipal Council Elections Using Blockchain). The adoption of AI in these technologies supports decision making, achieves precession, drives innovation, and ensures growth. Several applications excite me, such as generative AI in innovation and the economy for achieving SDGs.

4. Being the first woman computer science Teaching Assistant in KAU, and the first woman engineer in the Saudi Engineering Council, you've broken significant barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields. How have these experiences influenced your approach to leadership and mentorship in the technology industry?

Answer: During the early stages, I attended a state-of-the-art leadership program in Paris that made me realize that such skills are essential for women to advance in the tech industry and are significant in advocating diversity and inclusion for better environments.

I am grateful to my family for being supportive and encouraging, allowing me to create unlimited opportunities for myself, and helping other ladies to grow steadily. When the computer science department opened its arms to me and I was appointed as the first teaching assistant, I felt there was a bigger responsibility to help female students fulfill their dreams, and volunteering in several committees empowered me to secure better lab environments, follow up their progress, support them to overcome their social complexities, secure external training programs, and encourage mentorship with tech industries that were recommended by IEEE colleagues, invest my time with them in knowledge sharing and group reading. Such collective achievements by ladies made me feel stronger, happier, and more satisfied, especially with outstanding achievements resulted in creating the master's program followed by the decision of establishing the College of Engineering for ladies.

From this experience, I learned to accept and value criticism to improve myself for consistent cooperative growth; nevertheless, being a role model was not a goal on the list. I realized it just happened as a reward when several ladies were inspired by me, sought my advice, wanted to stay in touch even after years of graduation, the feedback of different followers on medias social media. Thes influenced my leadership approach and improved my connections with all teams. The secret to become a model, I think is to keep moving on while growing until the light of knowledge brightens the future path avoiding risks and the success in future journey become transparent.

5.     You are known for your contributions to the development of Intelligent Cities. Can you elaborate on the core principles and technologies that make a city truly "intelligent”?

Answer: The term smart city (digital) was used for the first time at the European Conference on Digital City in 1994, and the Europeans launched the European smart city project in a number of cities, where it met with modest success (i.e., Amsterdam as a digital city, Helsinki; the city of Barcelona, Spain, Melbourne, Australia), focusing on developing advanced applications for services, use of energy resources, raising the level of security, facilitating citizen services, and decision support systems.

In 1997 Stephen Rix introduced three types of intelligence cities: passive intelligence, interactive intelligence, and MFP techno-city. He explained that passive intelligence is all related to traditional information that is recorded digitally, and interactive intelligence has to do with the methods of information and services, plus the uses in entertainment and business, while the multifunctional city can be imagined as having the ability to respond to information technology based on changing conditions automatically, as is the case of organizing traffic, lighting.

My first working paper was presented in 2007 at the fourteenth annual meeting of the Saudi Society for Urban Sciences entitled, "Smart Technologies and Systems in the Architecture and Environment of Makkah: Choice or Necessity?". It confirmed the agreement with Rix's MFP perspective but explained in detail why the function of the city must be related to the level of intelligence of the city. This was the first core principle design, keeping in mind that the value of technology should be associated with the agents' behaviors, resources, services, etc.

The second core principle design, discussed in my other article published in the Saudi Engineers, "Smart Cities: The Case of Makkah as the smartest city in the World," stressed that the future concept of smart cities must be integrated with the environment and depends entirely on the science of modern artificial intelligence, linking real-world with the digital and virtual worlds by activating smart virtual technical map systems. The paper discussed the concept of future smart cities, the capabilities of multiple environmental resources (air, sea, and land), and enable learning, adaptation, and intelligent behavior for all objects.

The third principle design is the integration of intelligence; the proposal included measures of services and quality of services, linking all types of management to each other (productivity management, crisis management, risk management, operation management, development management, objectives management, etc.), enabling high-security services, including traffic systems, education, medicine, finance, trade, wealth exploration, waste disposal, self-hygiene technology, energy consumption and production, sanitary ventilation systems, reproduction of intelligent organisms, using smart materials, vehicles with smart devices, objects (such as smart home furniture that cleans and arranges itself), various services provided to the residents of homes that direct the user to the appropriate quality of food and activities that must be accomplished, the city systems can anticipate and solve natural disasters, optimally through intelligent autonomous system in real-time.

The fourth principle design is focusing on smart green technical structure and the circular design for Makkah, the Holley city, to be linked to its main operation activity (Twaf), allowing high level of communication between all intelligent structures, improved functions and optimized resources providing intelligent services using the proper technology.

The fifth principle design is related to measures and standards. Addressing intelligence city measures was not a topic of discussion at that time, which made the task very complicated. However, it is still an open space for scientific research. If the technology development continues without a clear plan or goal, with the absence of city intelligence standards and measures, the race of technology will not be sustainable or economically utilized. The standard and measures are introduced and discussed with several valuable recommendations.

Of course, in 2023, I would like to add innovation to the ecosystem, which Involves the implementation of AI design principles, AI strategy, knowledge, and techniques such as generative AI, self-organization, semantic, responsible, and cognition AI with the objectives of developing Disruptive AI Innovation (DAI) to improving the smart cities services including product, process, usage, or delivery, placing the human at the center of the ecosystem leading into a new AI economy.

6.     Having won several international awards and being recognized in various prestigious roles, what advice would you give to aspiring women in STEM fields who face challenges and barriers in pursuing their careers and ambitions?

Answer: With determination and planning, they can achieve their biggest goals and lead the way forward. They can currently focus on Generative AI for STEAM since it will assist them, for example, in the field of Science to predict equipment failures and optimize energy usage, discover new drugs and treatments in the field of genetics, leading to breakthroughs in genome editing and personalized medicine; in Technology, help businesses to optimize supply chains, enable predictive maintenance, automate cybersecurity processes, predict the likelihood of specific events, and to create intelligent chatbots; in Engineering, it help them to generate 3D environments, operate robotics and automation, and make assembly line processes more efficient; in Arts, assist them to generate music compositions and film editing; while in Mathematics, enable them to model, solve and predict complex mathematical problems.

7.     With a strong focus on e-payment, e-business, and technology in IR4.0, how do you see the future of financial transactions evolving, and what role will AI play in ensuring the security and efficiency of these processes?

Answer: I see e-payment is moving toward i-payment, e-business to i-business, and technology in IR4.0 to i-technology toward IRx.0. Disruptive technology with AI power will change the framework and landscape of how payment is performed, how business is operated and managed, and how IR4.0's face of production and marketing is personalized.

Some of the near future e-payment services for farmers could enable farmers to conduct all banking transactions from anywhere, instantly such as receiving their salaries, support the transfer subsidies provided by the governments directly to the farmer's personal account, provide farmers with microfinance services, and more.

Generally speaking, AI is the umbrella for e-payment, e-business, and IR4.0 technologies to enforce social security, environment security, automation security, and economic security. These technologies, when they coexist with AI innovations and tailored service programs from design to tasks and processes, will positively reflect efficiency using all advanced AI tools and components.

8.     As the Founder & Board President of AI Society, could you share some of the key initiatives and goals of the organization, and how it aims to foster AI education, research, and collaboration within the industry?

Answer: The Artificial Intelligence Society is the first society in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that will take us beyond the technical world and will open new horizons in the 2030 vision, where programs were designed to support young males and females to explore the artificial intelligence world and enjoy promising future.

The Society Vision: believes in the power of artificial intelligence to serve the economic vision of 2030; believes in the ability of artificial intelligence to solve the problems of the young generation, facilitate their lives, improve, and sustain their outcomes, provide opportunities for them to reach global standards, and in their abilities to develop artificial intelligence.

The Society Mission is raising the efficiency of society through international indicators of artificial intelligence in line with Vision 2030 as a national priority in research and development, innovation, knowledge, and entrepreneurship.

The Value: artificial intelligence is for humanity to build the fifth society and advance the wheel of civilizational, cultural, scientific, economic, industrial, and knowledge development.

There are the goals for the society:

1-     Spreading awareness about the importance of artificial intelligence.

2-     Working toward artificial intelligence that benefits the nation.

3-     Contributing to the AI digital transformation program

Three Sample Programs are:

1-     AI education, training, and development

2-     AI Research & Development Program for Sustainability Goals

3-     Innovation Programs for Sustainable and Smart Cities

A Sample Initiative: is transferring the traditional limited-income families to digital-income families by enhancing their digital skills, this program supports 3D printing training for producing innovative products that could be sold in hospitals and airports, for example, or Disneyland.

9.     Having published extensively, including an AI book, research papers, and articles, what topics do you believe need more attention and exploration within the field of AI, and how do you stay updated with the latest advancements and research?

Answer: It is very important to stay updated about how AI science is progressing by listening to internet-latest specialized media news, reading articles, reports, published papers, and books, attending conferences, testing and validating results, hands-on workshops, having intellectual discussions, and practicing anything new in the field, support youngers in research and developments, stay with pioneers in the field and ahead of myself.

One of the most important topics in AI that need attention is the AI concept of risk avoidance, in which new mechanisms must be developed, such as Proof-of-responsibility, Proof-of-equality, Proof-of-empowerment, Proof-of-accountability, and Proof-of-ethics.

10.  As an Associate Professor at King Abdul Aziz University, how do you strike a balance between your academic responsibilities and your involvement in various technology forums and international representation?

Answer: I rearrange my priority and time according to values and work with a professional team or colleagues.

11.  In your role as a technology strategist and AI advisor, how do you approach strategic planning and forming alliances to drive successful AI projects? What factors do you consider crucial in achieving long-term success and sustainability in AI-based ventures?

Answer: It is based on benchmarking of global companies' experiences plus my own vision and expertise. The AI strategy planning should exist to strengthen and support the current strategy, for example, considering the AI growth value and selecting the appropriate AI principles design. The main idea is to serve the organization's values by meeting new precise measurable, formulated objectives that could impact KPIs and avoiding risks related of wrong implementations without focusing only on technology, digital transformation, or applications.

There are different approaches to AI strategic planning that varies with the type of organization (government, council or agency, business), the scale of work, the functions and tasks, the AI governance, the service types, the products, the alignments with existing goals, values, resources, and the limitations. It is important to know that there is no unified AI strategic planning; however, there are common key factors from my point of view that could define four phases for achieving critical long-term success and sustainability.

Phase one is the discovery journey into the available organizational information, starting by understanding the vision, mission, values, goals (short-med-long), level of current challenges, and future risks or complexities the organization may face.

Phase two considers the assessment of the current situation covering how AI is integrated within the environment and operations, the AI team qualifications, and AI- infrastructure availability.

Phase three defines certain values and links them to the AI use case with allocated resources and constraints.

Phase four is related to data interpretation, analysis, training, and validation after the selection or design of an appropriate AI model which embeds diversity and inclusion, ethical use of AI technologies, and principles design. Even after strategy deployment, the AI strategy must be monitored to close the gaps.

Forming partnerships and alliances is crucial for driving successful AI growth; I will list them in the following simplified steps:

• Applying the best practice after identifying the organization's needs
• Considering the capabilities and expertise of the partner to meet with the organization the aligned objectives, goals, focus, and values.
• Defining the partner's strength and the size of previously executed projects with a track record to evaluate accurately their market reputation.
• Studying the possible level of engagement in the operation, management, cost, mutual benefits, and ROI.
• Agreeing to shared AI resources, infrastructure, and support.
• Proposing the timeline for the partnership and its impact on the organization.
• Exploring the partnership networks and future collaborations to enhance the organization's ecosystem.
• Developing shared milestones.
• Designing a collaborative roadmap.
• Establishing a joint governance framework.

By following best practice partnership guidelines, an organization can form alliances that add value, drive AI innovations, and achieve the AI strategic planning objectives. In short, the most crucial factor in achieving long-term success and sustainability in AI-based ventures is implementing AI existence and growth principles design.

12.  The integration of AI and IoT has opened up numerous possibilities in various industries. Can you share a practical use case where the combination of AI and IoT has resulted in significant advancements and improved outcomes?

Answer: On February 2019, at the Second Saudi International Internet of Things Exhibition and Conference, I talked about "AIOT and AoE Industry" and explained how the combination of AI and IoTs result in precision agriculture and could enable farmers to overcome the resource issue challenges.

I concluded the presentation by proposing an initiative illustrated by a roadmap to activate the role of artificial intelligence for the Internet of Things in Saudi Arabia in the agricultural industry. The roadmap strategic goal is to support the growth and productivity of AI values to drive economic prosperity in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world by establishing four platforms: AI innovation, income increase, investment, and finance supported by AI growth and AI productivity values.

The roadmap consists of three layers covering services, programs, and AI development. Some specific use cases were introduced, such as the use of drones to support farmers to collect agricultural data and recognize leaf damage, plant crops, fight birds and infections, spray vitamins and chemicals, help in crop monitoring, etc. Such data assist farmers to lower waste and increase productivity.

On April 2019, at the Project Management Symposium in Alkhubar, another significant use case was introduced under the title "AI Plan for IR4: The Future PM of Oil and Gas in Saudi Arabia". Einstein said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

So, what changes may happen if we add AI to the equation of innovation and manufacturing? Simply, disruptive AI industrial innovation will come to the surface, which is based on AI design principles, AI strategy, AI methodology, AI knowledge, and AI techniques, including generative AI, self-organization, and cognition systems with the objectives of developing Disruptive AI Innovation in OIL & GAS INDUSTRY related to process, function, products, service, and environment to transforming the existing traditional industry into an intelligent one. This will lead to a new AI industrial economy as well as improve all aspects of the complete sector. IOTs innovation technology using AI blockchain could be used for higher security transaction services (digital currencies), creating substantial growth by offering better performance and innovative marketing, which is “a game changer” value.

The graph below is an improved and adapted version of big data made simple associating the different types of AI in O&G current and future implementations; for example, edge AI is going to reduce latency time and assist in model training without depending on the internet. This could be considered for oil cybersecurity systems as well.

In short, the AI disruptive innovation technology improves performance and will overtake the existing energy technology. One example of AI and IOTs technology, could be used in the oilfield to assist management, supervisors, and workers and improves exponentially the level of monitoring, human security and energy performance.

13.  Given the rapid growth of AI applications, how do you address ethical concerns related to AI, and what measures do you believe are essential to ensure responsible and unbiased AI development and deployment?

Answer: These are very significant measures for AI system designers to adapt in the development process; by following international standards, we can address the ethical concerns related to AI. The EU developed guidelines, and the UN introduced regulations to achieve trustworthy AI and responsible AI, while the OCED developed AI principles design and values. For example, the guidelines listed seven system requirements to reach trustworthy AI. The Human agency and oversight guarantee human-in-the-loop, human-on-the-loop, and human-in-command approaches.

Technical Robustness and safety ensure unintentional harm can be minimized and prevented. Privacy and data governance ensure legitimized access to data and the protection of data for privacy. Transparency in which AI systems and their decisions in accordance with explainable AI in a manner adapted to the stakeholder concerns. AI systems diversity should be accessible to all stakeholders throughout their entire life circle regardless of disability. Accountability mechanisms should address responsibility and accountability for AI systems and their outcomes.

14.  As an AI expert with experience in diverse domains, such as e-Learning, data mining, and intelligent cities, how do you approach interdisciplinary collaboration, and what benefits do you see in bringing together experts from different fields to solve complex challenges?

Answer: AI aims to solve complex problems of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature, which requires the collaboration and involvement of experts with different backgrounds. For example, my approach begins with open communication to understand the team's interest, define the value for all parties, describe the level of complexity involved and the expertise required, bridge the gap between disciplines, list the resources and the obligatory time plan, emphasize the joint benefits such creativity and innovation, exchange of knowledge, brings broader impact in the different domains, which eventually lead to ethical AI developments.

For example, speech recognition requires phonology in selecting a suitable speech unit, computer science for programming and algorithms, phonetics for the acoustic representation of the sound, mathematics for designing the learning equations, statistics for evaluating the system behavior, accuracy and model data, engineering for signal processing, data-science for pattern recognition, an AI expert for designing the system and integrating the model, plus other sciences according to the application type.

15.  With a background in AI and technology strategy, you've likely witnessed numerous technological trends come and go. What are some common misconceptions about AI that you often encounter, and how do you dispel them when discussing AI with various stakeholders?

Answer: Some common misconceptions about AI by businessmen are that AI is only hype and there is no need to invest in its development, by engineers that AI and control automation are the same things, by IT specialists that AI is a black box algorithm and we should not miss with it. One way is to keep the communication open and design suitable use cases for implementations by educating them, sharing international reports, and short courses.

A second way would be inviting them to specially tailored workshops by me. A third way is sharing important tools and resources to correct their understanding and provide free training. Exploring the reason behind their misconception also helps in selecting a valid approach with effective techniques that may not be among the three suggested ways.

By addressing these misconceptions by educating stakeholders, a better understanding of AI is gradually developed to guide improved discussions and informed decision-making. 

BRIEF BIO-DATA OF DR. FATMAH A. BAOTHMAN, FOUNDER & BOARD PRESIDENT OF AI SOCIETY SAUDI ARABIA 

Member of the Global Future Council on the Future of AI, A member of the digital agenda for the G20 Presidency, she is a national technology strategist, AI advisor, and AI Business Development & Innovation, she officially represented women in several events the latest being at the UN-CSW67. A member of the G20- S20 Saudi Task Force. She is the first woman in the ME with a doctorate in Modern Artificial Intelligence in 2003 from the UK with the Alumni Roll of Honor, won several international AND LOCAL awards, listed among AI GCC & AI Arab experts by MIT Technology Review. She worked with Apple & Cisco to enter the Saudi market.

• LEADERSHIP & Prizes: First women in the Middle East with a Ph.D. in Modern Artificial Intelligence | University of Huddersfield Alumni roll Board of Honor| First Women Winner AI Prize from VB- the USA 2019 | Winner AI Prize from CC- UK 2019 in blockchain & AI| Listed among 100 International Ladies for AI Ethics in 2020| Pioneer Woman National Technology Strategist | First Women in Establishing Saudi Engineering Committee for Women | First Women IEEE Chapter at KAU |Team Building| VIP AI Speaker | AI highest KAU Committee & Initiating the AI Research Center @ KAU| MENA region lifetime technology achievement Award 2022 IN Abu Dhabi | Global lifetime technology achievement Award 2022 in Dubai During GITEX | National Volunteering Award for AI Society | First AI Strategy for Youth | AI Innovation Projects & Programs for Economy & Industry | AI Investments & Funds | Mandate H2020 program for UNESCO in Saudi |Technology policies/regulations | Member of G20- S20 in connecting the dots Task-Force 4 | Listed Among AI Arab Expert MIT Technology Review | Member of Aramco GROW initiative | Expert certification in the vision 2030 program for the kingdom by KAU.
• Official Representation: CSW67 representing NGOs Sector @ the UN in 2023 | 55th diplomatic relation Saudi Arabia and Austria MOFA| Germany for shaping the strategic cooperation benchmark program Saudi Geological Survey | 5 thArab Women Investors Union Forum in Cairo Arab League-Chamber of Commerce| Austria Book Exhibition MOHE| World Strategic Cooperation Bank for e-government | IEEE Congress meeting and exhibition in Paris | Qatar businesswomen Forum about Principal Design for intelligent business and smart economy | invited by MOHE to meet UN representatives in 2014 | Joined Saudi parliament in District Council | UNESCO Tech4Dev about Education Reform in GCC Region |
• Technological Expertise: Artificial Intelligence | Blockchain | Cybersecurity | e-Learning | Speech Recognition| AI Curriculum Designer & Evaluator | Technology Strategists | intelligent-cities innovations | Technology policies & regulations. • Trophy: KAU| Prince Faisal Center| Ministry Of Education| Ministry Of Foreign Affair| MOHE| Ministry of Human Resource & Social Development| ISACA for Security | Women in Technology | |Ministry Of Hajj |Ministry Of Culture &Media |Saudi Council of Engineering | Several National Universities | Scitech | Future Saudi Women | Women in Data Science |
• Innovation & Publication: Designing digital Cognitive representation of 7 primes for Arabic language | Arabic Language dialect Agent | Human-Robot Communication on Facebook with Darwin robot remotely | AI Book translation to Arabic | Magazines Articles | Research Papers | Bachelor, Master & PhD Projects Supervision | Funded Researches | Coined more than 300 Arabic technological terms | AI global classroom broadcasted from Tokyo | the 20th anniversary of AI labs | the 50th anniversary of AI | Second life in creating future laboratories and universities (as the first version of the current metaverse technology) | Raising Cogitation & Speed for NAW robot | ongoing 4 innovation in Energy waste and supply chain.
• Administration & Advisor: SAVOLA | Advisor educational sector King Abdullah Economic City | Faqih Hospital| Abu Dhabi Digital Authority | Abu Dhabi Digital Majlis | Abu Dhabi Digital Next | Electronic University | Private Companies| Establishing the CS Dept for ladies | Deputy Director IT Center | Vice Dean of Admission & Registration | GM IT Security | Apple Center Manager | Director of Elearning | Chairwomen (IEEE) Woman in Engineering- Western region | President of the Women Committee Engineers at Saudi Council of Engineering | Associate Professor in AI | Assistant Vice Dean of the College of Science for Administrative Department Affairs | Assistant Vice Dean of the College of Science for Academic Department Affairs | Assistant Vice Dean of the College of Science for Department Affairs for Postgraduate Studies |Establishing Computer Science Department for Ladies KAU |
• Honorary Member & Advisory Board: Green Building Council and has been involved in smart cities and intelligent environments design | Scientific journals' reviewer of AI | A review board member of E-business Research Journal | a technical program committee of (ATAMI), member of board Frontiers in Robotic & AI | ACM Transactions on the Web (TWEB) reviewer board | members of the editorial board of EAA | MASAUM | HRSE KSA 2023 Advisory Board.
• 34 years of relentless technology, AI, Blockchain researcher, and deep understanding of emerging AI and Blockchain economies.
• High-performance expert in AI technologies with national and international recognition for her achievements to position organizations and private sectors into the lead.

Associate Professor, she founded the computer science department, the Saudi Engineering Committee for Women which was the main derive for establishing the Engineering colleges in the western region, founded the IEEE Chapter for Women, and recently she is the founder and the board president of the AI Society. She has held various administrative positions, supervised hundreds of students in technology & AI business projects, and has several quality AI publications and book translations.