AB Majlis podcast: Google MENA tackles ‘hardest challenge' in AI – Mastering 16 Arabic dialects

Google's Gemini AI has conquered 16 of the region's 25 Arabic dialects, but the tech giant admits the complexity of Arabic language variations remains one of the most formidable challenges in AI development worldwide.
In an exclusive interview on the AB Majlis podcast, Anthony Nakache, Managing Director of Google MENA, revealed the company's progress in creating AI that can truly understand the region's linguistic diversity.
'The challenge is, how do you account for the local nuances and the cultural differences,' Nakache explained. 'This is a hard challenge, but this is something that we are committed to do if you want to make it as useful as possible.'
While Gemini now understands 16 Arabic dialects, it currently responds only in Modern Standard Arabic — highlighting the ongoing technical hurdle of building AI that not only comprehends regional speech patterns but can authentically replicate them.
$15 million initiative targets Arabic AI gap
To accelerate progress, Google has announced its largest-ever regional initiative, committing $15 million through google.org to advance AI skills, safety, and adoption across the Middle East and North Africa.
'We'll launch new curriculum for AI in Arabic. We'll also launch new Google-led and partner-led training programs to really train all users in the region,' Nakache said, detailing plans to upskill half a million people in AI over the next two years.
This massive training push comes alongside infrastructure investments including operational cloud regions in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, a newly announced region in Kuwait, and expanded AI capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
Google's approach to solving the Arabic language challenge involves multidisciplinary teams of 'product experts, engineers, linguists' working together and making direct visits to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to gather user feedback.
Young Arabs reveal unexpected AI usage patterns
The investment is driven partly by surprising data on how regional users are utilising AI—in ways markedly different from global trends.
'Over the last couple of months, we've seen a massive increase, especially in the young generation, of prompts that are related to productivity,' Nakache revealed. 'These prompts include things like developing a CV, preparing for an interview, writing effective emails, and that's actually not something we see to the same extent in other parts of the world.'
This career-focused approach distinguishes MENA users from those in other regions, where generative AI is often used more for entertainment or general information.
'The young generations in MENA are getting ready to enter the workforce, but also getting ready to develop their career and grow their career using AI,' he added.
$320 million economic potential drives government support
The economic stakes are enormous. Nakache cited analysis from The Economist projecting that 'by 2030 AI in this region could accrue up to $320 billion in economic value.'
This potential has catalysed unprecedented government action across the Gulf. 'They're appointing ministers. They are creating AI authorities. They are building progressive regulation. They are investing in infrastructure,' Nakache said, noting that regional governments 'are doing everything they can to really capture this amazing opportunity.'
A study by Ipsos found that 'UAE users are among the most optimistic when it comes to AI globally,' creating a uniquely receptive market for advanced AI technologies.
Education and healthcare first to transform
Looking beyond language capabilities, Nakache identified education and healthcare as the sectors poised for most immediate transformation.
In education, he described AI's ability to help teachers 'boost their creativity and improve their productivity,' allowing them to 'save time and reinvest that time working with students.'
He shared a personal anecdote of using Gemini with his 7-year-old son, having 'a 10-minute conversation about the solar system' that he called 'a magical experience' that demonstrated how AI is 'totally changing the way we are interacting with information.'
For healthcare, Google's efforts include Med LM, a specialised medical language model, and its Alpha Fold project, which recently earned two Google researchers a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for revolutionising how scientists predict protein structures.
'It used to take four to five years for one person to actually predict the 3D shape of a protein,' Nakache explained. 'In one year with Alpha Fold, we've mapped 200 million proteins,' accelerating research in fields from cancer treatment to climate science.
After 15 years in the MENA region, Nakache concluded that Google has 'never been more committed to this region than we are today,' with AI representing 'the most profound way we're actually going to fulfill our mission' of organising the world's information.
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