{"name":"Applied AI in Bahrain — the record","description":"Every announced initiative, deployment, published result and regulation of applied AI on the record for Bahrain, tagged by kind, industry, region and role, sourced and dated. A slice of the State of Applied AI record, maintained continuously by the Industrial Research Unit of the Straits Institute for Applied AI.","source":"https://www.straitsai.institute/state-of-applied-ai/bahrain","partOf":"https://www.straitsai.institute/state-of-applied-ai/evidence.json","attribution":"Industrial Research Unit, Straits Institute for Applied AI","updated":"2026-10-29","facet":{"kind":"country","name":"Bahrain","slug":"bahrain","iso2":"BH","region":"Middle East & North Africa"},"counts":{"entries":13,"deployments":8,"evidenceImpact":0,"evidenceAdoption":3,"regulation":2,"industries":3,"countries":1,"linked":13},"entries":[{"kind":"regulation","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","org":"Council of Representatives (Bahrain)","text":"Five MPs headed by Dr Hisham Al Asheeri propose Bahrain AI regulation criminalising, under the Information Technology Crimes Law, knowingly faking or doctoring someone's picture, voice or footage with AI so it passes as real and violates privacy. Jail, a fine up to BD30,000, or both could follow, capped at five years and BD50,000 when content spreads or serves blackmail, threats or defamation. The synthetic-media offence is only proposed.","date":"2026-10-07","source":"https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1408819/Bill-proposes-harsh-penalty-for-misuse-of-artificial-intelligence-"},{"kind":"evidence-adoption","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","org":"National Cyber Security Centre (Bahrain)","text":"Bahrain's National Cyber Security Centre has released Ask Amna, an AI cybersecurity awareness assistant, unveiled at Marassi Galleria with agency head Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa. Residents can quiz it on web scams, pick up safer habits and vet an address before tapping. The helper joins the Bu Rashid Family, a Bahraini cast created to carry public AI safety guidance.","date":"2026-09-18","source":"https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1406891"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","role":"Municipal inspector","org":"Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture (Bahrain)","text":"Bahrain's Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture is trialling AI surveillance cameras at some public sites to catch littering, vandalism and other offences, it said on 30 June 2026. Control rooms analyse the smart cameras' feeds; rollout will widen yearly across the ministry's 200-plus parks, gardens, beaches, seafronts and walking tracks. Guards cannot be stationed everywhere, the under-secretary noted.","date":"2026-06-30","source":"https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1399252/THE-SMART-WAY-AHEAD-AI-powered-cameras-to-guard-Bahrains-public-areas-"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","role":"Traffic police officer","org":"Ministry of Interior","text":"Bahrain's Ministry of Interior is trialling AI traffic enforcement using 500 smart cameras from Beyon Solutions. The system automatically catches speeding drivers, red-light violations, handheld phone use and unfastened seatbelts. Officials will assess results at these selected locations before deciding on a wider smart camera network across the kingdom.","date":"2025-11-12","source":"https://www.gdnonline.com/DetailsFlip/1368328/Trial-phase-of-installing-500-smart-traffic-cameras-begins"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Bahrain","role":"Customer service agent","org":"Bede Bahrain","text":"Bede Bahrain now offers AI customer service via two tools on Zain Bahrain's AI infrastructure: a WhatsApp/website generative AI chatbot and an AI-generated voice replacing IVR prompts. Callers hear naturally spoken, locally tuned guidance instead of scripted menus; chat users get human-like replies on products, services and application status. The aim: round-the-clock 24/7 customer engagement across both channels.","date":"2025-11-03","source":"https://www.bede.bh/bede-bahrain-leverages-zain-bahrains-latest-innovations-by-introducing-two-ai-powered-services-to-revolutionize-customer-service-experience/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Bahrain","role":"Sharia compliance officer","org":"Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB)","text":"Bahrain Islamic Bank now answers Sharia questions instantly via Al Murshid, an AI Sharia advisory platform trained on 2,000-plus Fatwas its Sharia Supervisory Board has issued since 1979. Unveiled at the AAOIFI-IsDB conference, it extends AI in Islamic finance compliance across daily banking. The Digital Banker Global Islamic Finance Awards 2025 named it Best AI Initiative.","date":"2025-11-02","source":"https://www.bisb.com/en/bisb-launches-al-murshid-sharia-ai-platform-during-aaoifis-20th-conference-and-wins-best-ai"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","role":"Surveyor","org":"Survey and Land Registration Bureau (SLRB)","text":"Aetosky and Bahrain's Survey and Land Registration Bureau have begun phase two of an AI building violation monitoring project, shifting from adopted technology toward full in-house control. Satellite imagery now underpins the Bureau's own detection of urban and natural change nationwide, rather than reliance on outside operation. A prior stage with the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture had already lifted efficiency by over 60% using this AI change detection system.","date":"2025-08-25","source":"https://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/117768.html"},{"kind":"regulation","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","org":"Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA)","text":"A four-pillar structure — legal compliance, adoption, public awareness, cross-border cooperation — now binds every government body under this Bahrain AI policy. Bahrain's Information & eGovernment Authority enforced it with the GCC's Guiding Manual on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence Use, linking national AI regulation to Economic Vision 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.","date":"2025-07-27","source":"https://www.iga.gov.bh/en/article/bahrain-launches-national-ai-policy-and-adopts-gcc-ethics-manual"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","role":"Addiction recovery specialist","org":"Ministry of Interior","text":"Bahrain's Ministry of Interior won the 2025 Bahrain Digital Content Award for its AI addiction recovery app, an AI-powered addiction treatment tool built by the Human Resources Directorate to track and boost drug recovery rates. The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Evidence runs the wider scheme behind it, using artificial intelligence to study behavioural drivers and craft tailored interventions. It took the Government-Citizen Partnership category.","date":"2025-07-14","source":"https://www.albiladpress.com/news/2025/6118/bahrain/926331.html"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Bahrain","role":"Investment professional","org":"GFH Financial Group","text":"GFH Financial Group now offers the GCC's first fully voice-operated AI-powered investment assistant, letting customers speak directly to manage holdings instead of tapping through menus. Running on OpenAI's technology, the tool handles live portfolio tracking and real-time investment inquiries. This puts GFH ahead of rivals still limited to text-based conversational banking tools.","date":"2025-05-23","source":"https://dashboard.kingnewswire.com/press-release/gfh-launches-next-generation-of-conversational-ai-assistant"},{"kind":"evidence-adoption","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","org":"Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA)","text":"Bahrain's iGA taught staff across its directorates AI tools for government productivity, running a workshop titled 'AI Tools for Employee Productivity' at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. Its Innovation and Advanced Technologies Directorate led the session, covering prompt engineering and generative AI for civil servants alongside hands-on daily-task exercises.","date":"2025-04-28","source":"https://www.iga.gov.bh/en/article/iga-organizes-a-workshop-on-ai-tools-for-employees-productivity-for-its-employees-across-different-directorates"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Marketing & Creative","region":"Bahrain","role":"Marketing professional","org":"Bahrain Duty Free","text":"An AI advertising campaign from Bahrain Duty Free marks its maiden fully robotic rollout, spanning airport signage, social feeds, radio and street hoardings. Bahraini slang meets English through AI-generated marketing, replacing agency writing. Bahrain Airport Company and Bahrain International Airport jointly built it.","date":"2025-04-24","source":"https://moodiedavittreport.com/bahrain-duty-free-reveals-ai-powered-multi-location-advertising-campaign/"},{"kind":"evidence-adoption","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Bahrain","org":"Tamkeen (Labour Fund)","text":"Tamkeen's AI training programme aims to give 50,000 Bahrainis artificial intelligence expertise by 2030. Bahrain's Labour Fund split the effort into three strands: executives get grounding in adopting AI strategically, ordinary staff learn automation and analytics tools day-to-day, and specialists build systems from scratch. Outside firms and domestic institutions jointly run the coursework, ordered into motion by the Chairman of Tamkeen's Board of Directors.","date":"2025-04-09","source":"https://www.bizbahrain.com/tamkeen-launches-first-of-its-kind-program-to-train-50000-bahrainis-in-artificial-intelligence/"}]}