Generative AI seen to push innovation in various sectors, says Google Cloud official

The emergence of generative AI “is an exciting opportunity” for industries, companies, and a wide range of sectors “to reimagine what is possible,” said Adaire Fox-Martin, president, Google Cloud Go-to-Market.
Fox-Martin, who spoke at a press conference held on the sidelines of Google Cloud’s opening ceremony for its new Doha cloud region, said AI has been part of Google’s corporate product portfolio “for many years.”
Replying to a question from Gulf Times on the impact of AI across different sectors in Qatar, she said generative AI could be categorised into three areas when applied to business outcomes.
“I think the three main use cases that we’re seeing emerge right across all industries are changing the customer experience, looking for opportunities to be cost-efficient and effective, and then finally looking at where you can remove some of the drudgery from very content-rich tasks and add the creativity that generative AI allows for that,” Fox-Martin said.
HE the Minister of State and Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZ) Ahmad al-Sayed, who also spoke at the press conference, said the Qatari government will utilise disruptive technology and make it advantageous to businesses.
Al-Sayed emphasised that QFZ will also continue to work with its partners, such as Google, along with other authorities in the government and the private sector, to maximise the use of disruptive technologies to push for innovation and transform Qatar’s economy.
Google Cloud Qatar general manager Ghassan Kosta also emphasised that the new Doha region that is now part of Google global network, “which covers 37 regions and 112 zones, and also bringing Google Cloud services to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.”
“Google Cloud brings its advanced infrastructure to address customers’ needs. And as part Qatar National Vision 2030, we have witnessed the efforts of the Qatari government to diversify and transform its economy by deploying tech for the benefit of its citizens. And that’s why we are here. And that’s why we are enabling cloud in Qatar,” Kosta said.
According to an earlier statement, the new cloud region will meet the growing demand for cloud services in Qatar and the Middle East region and support Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to transform the country into a digital economy through innovation and digital transformation.
Research commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by Access Partnership stated that the new Doha cloud region is expected to drive increased economic activity and is estimated to contribute a cumulative $18.9bn in higher gross economic output to Qatar’s economy between 2023 and 2030 and support the creation of 25,000 jobs in 2030 alone.
This new cloud region is the latest significant investment made by Google Cloud in Qatar, following the recent opening of a country office and virtual Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Msheireb.
The series of investments in infrastructure and resources demonstrates Google Cloud’s continued commitment to playing a pivotal role in advancing Qatar’s digital future and technological capabilities.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Qatari government have helped enable the growth of the cloud across the government through the adoption of cloud policies, which facilitated Google Cloud's market entry.