Riyadh, November 5, 2026, SPA -- The establishment of the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh continues the 80-year partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Saudi Arabia was among the 20 countries that met in London in 1946 to establish the organization. Building on this partnership, ICAIRE operates as a UNESCO category 2 center under the organization’s auspices, serving its member states.

The Cabinet approved the establishment of ICAIRE on July 25, 2023, granting it legal personality and financial and administrative independence. The 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference subsequently approved its designation as a category 2 center. The center was officially launched in partnership with UNESCO on September 10, 2024, during the Global AI Summit, following a tripartite agreement between UNESCO, the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA), and ICAIRE.

ICAIRE’s work is based on four main pillars: AI research and development support, AI ethics awareness and outreach, AI capability building, and AI policy recommendation development. All its programs are guided by UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted by 193 countries in November 2021 to establish principles of human rights, justice, transparency, and accountability.

The center seeks to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and UNESCO’s program priorities while coordinating international and regional cooperation on AI policies, ethics, and research. Its core pillars include expanding developing countries’ access to AI learning resources, with a focus on the Arab region, and increasing their participation in technology-related policymaking.

At the program level, ICAIRE’s Elevate initiative aims to train 25,000 women in AI by 2027 across more than 100 countries. Meanwhile, the center’s 10K Leaders Training Program targets 10,000 public-sector leaders in cooperation with the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and in partnership with the Apolitical platform, with plans to expand to include ICESCO member states. The first cohort of the Ethical Applied AI Program has also graduated, with 217 trainees from 41 countries and territories.

In the fields of knowledge and language, the center joined SDAIA and the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language in launching the third edition of the Data and Artificial Intelligence Glossary, which contains more than 1,400 terms in four languages. The center also operates an AI observatory and offers training programs and specialized publications on technology policy and ethics.

ICAIRE operates within a network of partnerships that includes UNESCO, ICESCO, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as academic institutions and global technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM. These partnerships support the exchange of expertise and best practices among countries and institutions.
ICAIRE is also a founding member of the UN-supported Global AI Capacity Development Network, which brings together 30 leading centers and institutions worldwide. The network aims to bridge the digital divide, strengthen the governance of emerging technologies, and transfer knowledge and innovation to countries of the Global South. This work supports the development of safe and sustainable national AI strategies.

These efforts culminated in Riyadh hosting the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (GFEAI 2026) from September 14 to 17, marking the first time the forum had been held in the Arab world. The event was co-hosted by UNESCO and Saudi Arabia, represented by SDAIA and ICAIRE, in coordination with the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.

During GFEAI 2026, ICAIRE called on universities and academic institutions to adopt an international methodological framework for developing master’s programs in AI ethics.