QNA
Doha
As part of the ongoing development and modernisation efforts at Qatar News Agency (QNA), the agency has announced an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) programmes across various departments, in collaboration with Microsoft. This initiative aims to keep pace with global technological advancements, particularly in the media and journalism sectors, where AI is increasingly being utilised.
QNA’s plan for expanding AI use in the near future will focus on enhancing its news services and other functions. The goal is to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and improve the quality of services provided by the agency.
Director-General of QNA, Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi, emphasised that technology is now a crucial factor in delivering top-tier services across all sectors, with a significant impact on media work. He stressed QNA’s commitment to continually adopting technological advancements to enhance its operations and services. Al Rumaihi noted that QNA will be integrating AI programmes into its operations, allowing for more efficient and sophisticated service delivery across all stages, including monitoring, analysis, production, publication, and follow-ups.
By incorporating AI, QNA aims to introduce new features to its services. Over the past few years, QNA has undergone a comprehensive development in both form and content, significantly expanding its news coverage to include a wide array of local, regional, and international events. The agency has also prioritised delivering its media services in five languages—Arabic, English, French, German, and Spanish—and offers simultaneous translation in 26 languages.
Al Rumaihi highlighted the significant advancements in QNA’s digital platforms and services, particularly in the areas of news content, photo editing, infographics, and video production. These improvements have been well received by the public and other recipients of QNA’s services.
In June, QNA was awarded for its innovation in using AI at Microsoft’s exclusive event, ‘Leading the Era of AI’. This recognition underscores QNA’s commitment to leveraging AI technologies to enhance work performance and improve its media services.
Al Rumaihi noted that, in alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030, the State of Qatar aims to establish itself as a hub for innovation and technology. The introduction of AI technologies across various sectors is a key part of this strategy, supporting the country’s national development goals and accelerating its digital transformation. QNA, as a state institution, is actively working to implement this vision by integrating technology tools to provide the best possible services. In the coming period, QNA staff will be trained to efficiently use AI programmes according to specific guidelines and mechanisms.
Director of the Technical Affairs Department at QNA, Eng. Khalid Al Mutawaa, explained that integrating AI programmes into the agency’s operations will speed up the creation of news content in various formats—written, visual, and audio—while ensuring accuracy, saving time and effort, and enhancing the quality of news services.
Over the past few years, QNA has significantly expanded its news content production, both through its main news services and its social media platforms. Eng. Al Mutawaa mentioned that AI programmes will be used in QNA’s daily news monitoring and data analysis operations, supporting multiple languages and various programmes like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
