AUSIM Conference in Tangier on Artificial Intelligence

In Tangier, the 2026 AUSIM Conference brings together more than 1,200 executives, policymakers and experts from October 7 to 9 around a now-strategic question: how can organizations make the most of AI and innovation without losing control of their data and technologies?

A few years ago, artificial intelligence was a subject for research labs and forward-looking conferences. Today it is a budget line, a pilot project in most large organizations and, increasingly, a matter of governance. This is the shift that the AUSIM Conference (Assises de l’AUSIM), held in Tangier since October 7, aims to place at the center of the debate. We examined what is known about this 8th edition and what it says about the state of digital transformation in Morocco.

A fixture of Morocco’s IT community

AUSIM, the Association of Information Systems Users in Morocco, brings together those who deploy, operate and make decisions about technology within companies and public administrations. Its conference, held roughly every two years, is a regular meeting point for this community. The previous edition, in October 2024 in Marrakech, focused on digital technology as a lever for sustainability, resilience and energy efficiency. The Tangier edition shifts the focus to artificial intelligence.

According to the organizers, more than 1,200 participants are expected through October 9. They include executives, chief information officers, public decision-makers and Moroccan and international experts. AUSIM presents the event as an “operational think tank”, that is, a space for exchange among peers rather than a commercial showcase. We remain cautious about this description. It states an intention, and only the content of the sessions will show how far it holds true.

The chosen theme, “AI-MPOWERING: through Innovation, Intelligence and Sovereignty”, is a play on words. It combines AI, for artificial intelligence, and empowerment, the capacity to act. The idea is to make AI a tool that strengthens organizations’ autonomy, rather than a product consumed without being mastered.

Moving beyond the hype

The organizers’ message is explicit: the goal is to move from experimentation to impact. Mohamed Saad, president of AUSIM, sums up the approach by saying that participants are not there to “observe technological gadgets” but to define the decision framework that allows organizations to move from pilot projects to measurable industrial impact on their financial statements, while guaranteeing the sovereignty of national data.

This wording touches on a problem well known to IT departments, in Morocco as elsewhere. Launching a generative AI prototype, an internal assistant or a predictive analytics tool has become relatively easy. Making it work at scale is harder. It requires clean and accessible data, skills, a security framework, regulatory compliance and, above all, a demonstrable return on investment. Many projects remain stuck at this intermediate stage, which industry jargon sometimes calls “pilot purgatory”.

Framing the question in terms of the balance sheet rather than the technology is a notable shift. It assumes that CIOs will agree with general management and finance departments on decision criteria: which uses to prioritize, which gains to measure, which risks to accept. This is what the association’s president means by a “decision framework”.

Sovereignty, a central notion that needs defining

The third term of the theme, sovereignty, is arguably the most delicate. In public debate, it covers very different realities.

It can refer to data sovereignty: where is data hosted, who can access it, and under which jurisdiction? Since 2009, Morocco has had a personal data protection law, Law 09-08, overseen by the National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection (CNDP). However, the use of AI models hosted abroad raises new questions, particularly when the data processed is sensitive or strategic.

It can also refer to technological sovereignty in the broader sense: dependence on model and computing power providers, access to infrastructure, and local capacity to develop or adapt solutions. On this front, states and companies alike are seeking a balance between access to the best technologies, often designed by a handful of global players, and preserving their room for maneuver.

We note that the word is used here without hostility toward openness. The choice of Tangier as the host city illustrates this ambivalence. As the Moroccan business press points out, the proximity of Tanger Med, a logistics and industrial platform connected to major global trade networks, is an example of national roots combined with strong international openness. In this reading, sovereignty is not self-sufficiency. It is the ability to choose one’s dependencies.

What we know about the event

The publicly available information at this stage provides a few reference points:

• Dates and venue: October 7 to 9, 2026, in Tangier.
• Edition: the 8th AUSIM Conference.
• Participants: more than 1,200 announced by the organizers, including executives, CIOs, public decision-makers and experts.
• Theme: “AI-MPOWERING”, built around innovation, intelligence and sovereignty.
• Startup ecosystem: Technopark Morocco issued a call to select eight young companies from its network, which are given a stand in a “Startup Village”. The call targets companies working in AI, data, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

The presence of a dedicated startup space is not insignificant. It is a reminder that sovereignty is also decided by the local ecosystem’s ability to offer alternatives, or at least complements, to the offerings of major international providers.

What is at stake for companies and the administration

For large Moroccan organizations, AI raises first of all a productivity issue, which many executives now find hard to ignore. It also raises a risk issue. Data leaks through consumer tools used without oversight, model bias, dependence on a single provider, cybersecurity: these are subjects that concern governance as much as IT.

Morocco has also launched a national strategy for digital development through 2030, which the theme of this edition appears to extend, as some press releases refer to “AIMPOWERING 2030”. At this time, we have no information on any public announcements made on the sidelines of the conference. It would be unwise to presume any.

A more reserved view deserves mention. Some observers believe that forums of this kind mainly produce statements of intent, and that their usefulness is measured in the following months, through investment decisions, partnerships formed and projects actually put into production. It is a demanding criterion, but a legitimate one.

A question that remains open

Is artificial intelligence reshuffling the deck for Morocco’s digital transformation? What this conference shows, at this stage, is above all a shift in the question. It is no longer a matter of whether to adopt AI, but under what rules, with which partners and at what cost in terms of dependence.

The answer will not come from a single event. It will depend on the ability of companies, the administration and innovation players to turn intentions into concrete choices: which data to host where, which skills to train, which providers to favor. In the coming days, we will follow the announcements and positions that emerge from Tangier.

FAQ

What is the AUSIM Conference?
It is the major gathering of information systems users in Morocco, organized by AUSIM. The 8th edition takes place in Tangier from October 7 to 9, 2026.

What does “AI-MPOWERING” mean?
The term combines “AI” (artificial intelligence) and “empowerment” (the capacity to act). It expresses the idea of making AI a lever of autonomy for organizations.

Why is sovereignty at the heart of the theme?
Because the growing use of AI raises the question of control over data and technologies. The organizers want to benefit from AI without losing mastery of either.

Who is taking part in the event?
According to the organizers, more than 1,200 executives, chief information officers, public decision-makers and Moroccan and international experts. Eight startups from the Technopark Morocco network are also present.