SDAIA and UNESCO in Riyadh: Translating AI ethics into legislation that identifies who is responsible for system errors

In Riyadh, the fourth edition of the UNESCO World Forum on AI Ethics launches, marking its first meeting inside an Arab country, jointly organized by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) and the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science. The forum brings together more than 1,200 participants and over 100 speakers across 30 sessions, inviting representatives from 194 countries, to inaugurate a new phase in technology governance that moves beyond drafting theoretical recommendations toward building accountable policies, legislation, and implementation practices.

This gathering continues an international trajectory that began in 2021 with UNESCO's adoption of an AI Ethics Principles framework, a framework embraced by more than 134 countries, with the Kingdom among the early adopters. However, the fundamental difference in this session's discussions lies in testing the effectiveness of those principles against the rapid evolution of models, and raising the most complex question in governance halls today:Identifying the entity or individual legally responsible when AI systems commit errorsIt is no longer merely a discussion of transparency or general individual protection, but a shift to precise evaluation standards that regulate technology use within governmental bodies and critical sectors, delineating areas of human intervention and direct responsibility for outcomes.

In this context, SDAIA’s spokesperson Engineer Saeed Al-Shahrani emphasized a governing equation that the growing intelligence of systems directly expands the scope of responsibility for their deployment, confirming that ethical use responsibility is no longer limited to governments and the private sector alone, but now encompasses the entire societal fabric. During the forum sessions, the Kingdom showcases its national experience in deploying AI within government institutions, aiming to link integrity controls and human rights protection with the digital transformation objectives of Vision 2030, while balancing rapid rollout with preserving public trust in algorithmic outputs and their daily applications.

Moving from theoretical recommendations to binding legislationDefining responsibilities directly impacts the tech business environment in the Gulf, Egypt, and the region at large. When model ethics become regulatory frameworks that clearly identify who bears algorithmic error, the risk assessment model for startups, financial institutions, and software developers automatically shifts. Software teams can no longer deliver AI solutions or dual-agent systems that function as black boxes without a clear audit trail, explainability, and documented decision rationales, because legal and financial liability will pursue the developer or operator as soon as any harm or performance degradation occurs, especially in government projects and sectors subject to stringent regulatory oversight.

And on the practical and executive level, this trajectory requires regional technology managers and legal advisors to promptly review service level agreements and model procurement contracts, ensuring they contain clear clauses that define liability ratios when model outputs deviate or privacy is breached. It also increases demand for verification engineering, compliance, and data audit skills, specialties that previously lacked top priority but now become essential to meet major supply and tender requirements. Clarity of accountability rules removes the hesitation that previously restrained some entities from adopting advanced technologies, making ethical compliance an operational and competitive advantage that ensures solution sustainability in regional markets.