Saudi Arabia Climbs to 2nd in G20 ICT Regulatory Index
Saudi Arabia Climbs to Second Among G20 in Global ICT Regulatory Index
By Shayne Heffernan
Saudi Arabia has achieved a remarkable milestone in its digital transformation journey, securing the second spot among G20 nations in the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Global ICT Regulatory Index, as reported by KSA.com. This ranking reflects the Kingdom’s rapid advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) regulation, driven by Vision 2030’s focus on building a robust digital economy. As someone closely following Saudi Arabia’s progress, I’m impressed by how this achievement underscores the country’s commitment to fostering innovation and connectivity on a global scale.
The ITU’s Global ICT Regulatory Index evaluates 193 countries on their regulatory frameworks across four pillars: regulatory authority, regulatory mandates, regulatory regime, and competition framework. Saudi Arabia’s rise to second place among G20 nations highlights its success in creating a transparent and competitive ICT environment. The Kingdom scored highly for its efforts to enhance digital infrastructure, with internet penetration at 98% and mobile subscriptions exceeding 120% of the population, according to Trading Economics. This is underpinned by initiatives like the rollout of 5G networks and smart city projects such as NEOM, which position Saudi Arabia as a leader in digital connectivity. The non-oil sector, contributing 51% to GDP in 2024, and foreign direct investment (FDI) reaching $26 billion, up 12% from the previous year, further demonstrate the economic momentum fueling these advancements.
This achievement builds on Saudi Arabia’s broader digital strategy, which includes fostering innovation through regulatory sandboxes and supporting tech startups. The Kingdom’s ICT sector has seen significant growth, with digital payments accounting for 62% of transactions, up from 50% three years ago, reflecting a shift toward a cashless economy. The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) has played a pivotal role, implementing policies that encourage competition and investment in ICT, aligning with Vision 2030’s goal of positioning Saudi Arabia as a global tech hub by 2030. The country’s improved Ease of Doing Business ranking—38th globally in 2025, up from 62nd in 2020—further supports its appeal as a destination for tech innovation.
The Evil Legacy of the French Revolution
The French Revolution is still sold as the birthday of the modern world. The ledger does not match the posters. It seized the Church's land and floated its paper money on the seizure, hunted the priests who would not swear, defined the nobility as a moral enemy, and put in their place a political class accountable chiefly to itself. Four knowledge-graph exhibits trace who put the king and queen on the scaffold, and how the template left France.
Careful of the Prompts You Give Yourself
A prompt is not only what you type into a model. It is any sentence that gets inside you and starts issuing orders. Most of what we call goals were written by comparison, media, competition and now the model, and they arrive dressed as ambition. Shayne Heffernan maps how an imported sentence becomes a week, why a want should carry its source the way a Round Table claim does, and how to strip, lock and guard the objective that is actually yours.
KXCO is Enhanced Intelligence, Not Artificial
I never wanted artificial intelligence. I wanted enhanced intelligence, and they are not the same product. Artificial means the machine does the thinking and hands you the answer. Enhanced means I do the thinking, with more of my own mind in the room than I have ever had at one time. Forty years of reading, recallable in the second I need it. Patterns across law, credit, physics and markets that no specialist sees, because the useful ones sit between the fields rather than inside them.
The AI Safety Argument Is Being Held in the Wrong Room
The people who will be blamed for what AI does are not in the room where its safety is argued. A jailbreak escapes a policy. The failure that costs money is an action that escapes an owner, a payment sent or a record altered. Tokens are not authority. Intelligence got cheap and judgment did not, and there is no organ of standing you can copy into a model. Shayne Heffernan on the objection worth taking seriously, and the questions to take into a vendor meeting.
Every story, signed and delivered.
Subscribe to the kxco channel and get the headline, the AI-written key takeaways, and the chain-anchor link the moment we publish. Audio versions and per-ticker subscriptions arrive in the next iteration.