AI Research in Morocco

AI research in Morocco has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade, with the country establishing itself as a significant contributor to international AI research across multiple subfields. Moroccan researchers publish in top-tier conferences and journals including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ACL, EMNLP, MICCAI, ICRA, AAAI, IJCAI, and IEEE Transactions journals. The scope spans machine learning theory, deep learning, NLP, computer vision, speech recognition, robotics, reinforcement learning, generative AI, AI ethics, and AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, and industry.

Leading research institutions include UM6P with its School of Computer Science and AI Research Center, ENSIAS with numerous AI research teams, Mohammed V University with multiple laboratories covering AI subfields, Cadi Ayyad University with strong CV and NLP groups, INPT, EMI, INRIA Morocco, and universities in Fes, Oujda, Marrakech, and Kenitra. The Moroccan government supports AI research through Digital Morocco 2030 and CNRST funding programs.

International collaborations involve French institutions like INRIA, CNRS, and Sorbonne Universite; Canadian institutions including Universite de Montreal and MILA; US universities like MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon; European partners in Germany, UK, Spain, and Italy; and collaborations with Gulf countries and other African nations. SMIA actively supports AI research through its annual report on the State of AI in Morocco, the comprehensive researcher directory connecting over 74 AI researchers, research networking events and workshops, mentorship programs, and advocacy for increased research funding and infrastructure.

Despite challenges including limited access to large-scale computing infrastructure and brain drain of talented researchers to opportunities abroad, the Moroccan AI research community continues to grow in size, quality, and international recognition. The number of Moroccan-authored papers at top AI conferences has been steadily increasing, and Moroccan researchers increasingly serve as area chairs and program committee members at major venues. The future of AI research in Morocco points toward increased focus on AI for social good addressing Moroccan and African development challenges, development of large language models and foundation models for Arabic and African languages, responsible and trustworthy AI research, efficient and sustainable AI methods, and continued growth in international research leadership and collaboration.