The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language is participating in the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence 2026, presenting its work to strengthen Arabic in AI technologies, computational linguistics, digital-resource development and technical terminology.

The forum is being held in Riyadh on 16 and 17 September 2026 under the theme “Shaping Global Cooperation for Ethical AI Governance”. Saudi Arabia is hosting the event through the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in cooperation with the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE), with policymakers, experts, academics and representatives of international organisations and the public and private sectors taking part.

Through its participation, the Academy is addressing the challenges created by the rapid development of AI for languages, particularly the quality of linguistic data, computational-processing efficiency, and the accuracy of standards and terminology needed for modern models and applications to handle Arabic effectively.

The Academy’s Secretary-General, Dr Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Washmi, said strengthening Arabic in the AI era requires coordinated institutional work to build language resources and tools, increasing modern technologies’ ability to understand and process Arabic and supporting its presence in digital products and applications.

The Academy’s work includes building data and linguistic resources, developing measurement and evaluation tools, establishing standards for Arabic computational linguistics, and developing technical terminology and abbreviations. These streams support researchers and developers and contribute to more capable digital solutions for Arabic.

Three Specialist Contributions

The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language will make three principal contributions to the forum programme. The first is an address by Dr Al-Washmi, titled “From Language to Knowledge: Unlocking the Potential of AI”, on the growing relationship between language, knowledge and intelligent technologies, Arabic’s place in this transformation, and the role of language institutions and Academy projects.

Dr Yahya bin Ahmed Al-Lutaini, Director of the Digital Dictionaries Department, will also take part in a session presenting the third edition of the Dictionary of Data and Artificial Intelligence Terminology. The session will focus on Arabising modern technical terminology, building dictionaries, localising terms and supporting specialised Arabic content.

Dr Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Harbi, Director of the Dictionary Computing Section, will participate in a session titled “What Language Does AI Speak? Advancing Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in AI”. It will consider the representation of languages and cultures in intelligent systems and the importance of high-quality language data and resources in developing and evaluating models.

The participation also highlights the need to account for cultural and linguistic specificity in AI development, reducing digital gaps between languages and supporting intelligent tools and applications that better serve Arabic-language users.

The Academy’s presence forms part of its efforts to build an Arabic ecosystem better prepared for technological change and to strengthen cooperation with international institutions specialising in AI and language technologies, expanding Arabic’s role in the future of technology and digital knowledge.