Saudi Arabia releases most advanced AI chatbot with ‘Islamic values’
As the market for artificial intelligence chatbots continues to grow, more companies are looking to claim their spot next to big companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Now, a new company is releasing a chatbot focusing on Islamic values.
AI company Humain developed Humain Chat, an AI chatbot for the two billion Muslims around the world. According to the company, they designed the chatbot to comply with Islamic values.
Humain is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which oversees more than $1 trillion in assets.
What do ‘Islamic values’ mean?
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More than 300 million people speak Arabic natively, making it the fifth most spoken native language in the world.
Humain said the chatbot is based on a large language model, similar to almost all other AI chatbots. However, this LLM will have safeguards to prevent it from violating Saudi Arabia’s social and religious rules.
Besides following rules, the company said Humain Chat will be able to understand Arabic across multiple dialects. There are more than 30 Arabic dialects that differ so vastly from one another that a person speaking one dialect couldn’t understand someone speaking another. The company said the chatbot can also switch from Arabic to English within the same conversation.
“The launch of HUMAIN Chat is a point of pride for Saudi Arabia, marking a historic milestone in our mission to build sovereign AI that is both technically advanced and culturally authentic,” Humain CEO Tareq Amin said in a press release.
How does Humain Chat work?
Humain Chat uses ALLAM 34B, an AI model developed for the Arab world, according to the company. The company said the model was developed by more than 120 AI specialists, including 35 Ph.D. holders.
Humain said it trained ALLAM 34B on one of the largest Arabic datasets ever assembled before refining it from more than 600 domain experts and 250 evaluators. The company said the LLM will continue to get smarter and more capable as more people use it, similar to how other LLMs work.
Who is partnering with Humain Chat?
The company said it acquired $23 billion for strategic technology partnerships and a $10 billion venture fund. Both Nvidia and AMD, two of the biggest AI chip manufacturers, said it would help Humain develop its data centers.
Humain said it has begun construction on its two campuses, which are made up of 11 data centers. Each of these data centers would have a 200-megawatt capacity. The company said it plans to build 1.9 gigawatts of power by 2030.
Does Humain Chat have competition?
Most chatbots, like ChatGPT and Claude, aren’t available to people in Saudi Arabia. However, there is one AI chatbot that is available in Saudi Arabia.
Falcon 3, developed in the United Arab Emirates, is a direct competitor to Humain Chat. Both countries are close allies, but Saudi Arabia is trying to get ahead of the UAE in business and technology. Unlike Humain Chat, Falcon 3 is not advertised as conforming to Islamic ideals or values but is built for Arabic dialects.
Saudi Arabia has invested $10 billion into Humain in an attempt to compete with Falcon 3.
What’s next for Humain Chat?
Humain said its chatbot is currently only available in Saudi Arabia but promises to expand to the entire Middle East before releasing globally. They did not give a timeline for a possible rollout.
However, the CEO said the company is looking towards the future.
“This is not the end state, but the beginning of a journey to serve the Kingdom, the Arabic-speaking world, and beyond. The potential is limitless, accelerating innovation and progress across every dimension of commercial and social life,” Amin said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
