Innovative economy: from digits to data, from technological sovereignty to technological leadership
The development of an innovative economy requires skilled personnel, secure technologies, and the ability for the public and private sectors to interact rapidly. At the same time, it is crucial to maintain a balance between legislative regulation and existing self-regulation, as well as to swiftly adapt to rapidly evolving technologies and not be apprehensive about using them. Those were the conclusions reached at a session entitled Innovative Economy: From Digits to Data, from Technological Sovereignty to Technological Leadership, which took place as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Artificial intelligence is reaching a new level, and is becoming integrated into company ecosystems
“In terms of challenges, we are witnessing a certain transition to a new level. Here we are not only talking about a digital transformation, but about an AI transformation. This suggests that a significant revision of internal business processes should be made, with a focus on trending AI technologies. This requires substantial investment. We need to implement fundamentally new solutions aimed at increasing labour productivity,” Darii Khalitov, Senior Vice President for Information Technology, Rostelecom.
“We are undergoing a process of development, and over the past two years in particular, we have developed a slightly different model of interaction with key market players based on partnership. This partnership specifically involves joint product development, and it is already bearing fruit. <...> Products are being developed that are sometimes independent ecosystems, and sometimes parts of larger ecosystems or landscapes belonging to major corporations. Here it is important that this partnership does not at all affect the independent development paths of these independent vendors,” Anton Dumin, Head of the Department of Information Technology, Automation and Telecommunications, Gazprom Neft.
The need to protect personal data and financial transactions
“Most operators of personal data today are unable to protect it. That is because according to the law, any entity that processes personal data is considered to be an operator. Let’s say there are more than 5 million legal entities in the country (including sole traders). Each of these is an operator of personal data, since at least two people work at each, and their personal data is processed accordingly. And that’s to say nothing of hospitals, nursery schools, schools, and hotels. A significant number of these operators cannot provide high-level protection for personal data. We are working on this issue with Roskomnadzor and the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. Our proposal is to introduce a new category for special operators of personal data,” Alexander Khinshtein, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.
“We have recently launched a pilot project at RU-CENTER [Russia’s largest domain registrar for businesses – ed.] for identifying domain owners through Russia’s state services portal, using the Integrated Identification and Authentication System. <...> This is a significant step forward in combating phishing. We are very pleased with the results. We propose rolling this out across the entire sector as soon as possible,” Andrey Kuzmichev, General Director, RU-CENTER; President, Foundation for the Development of Internet Technologies and Infrastructure.
“We have a system <...> for secure online payments. There are all these dreaded buzzwords like frictionless authentication, which enables customers to proceed in a seamless manner. <...> We can see that the green zone is at 30%. With the use of artificial intelligence, this rises to 60%. <...> So, we will definitely use this, and it will be released as soon as the end of the summer. We are also using artificial intelligence in the Faster Payments System,” Vladimir Troyanovsky, Deputy General Director, National Payment Card System.
An underdeveloped electronic document management system for interaction between the public and private sectors
“Recently, I reviewed how documents were submitted to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. I saw that 20% of documents from businesses are submitted in paper form. These consist of requests, correspondence concerning contracts, contract reports, and various clarifications. We are currently working on an initiative which would come into force on a certain date next year. It involves a [proposed – ed.] ban on businesses corresponding with any state structure in any form other than electronic. We will definitely need this integration,” Maksut Shadaev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.
“An important element is electronic document management (EDM). In terms of the private sector, most companies already use EDM systems, and many will transition to them in the very near future. Meanwhile, government bodies interact through interdepartmental EDM systems. But there is an aspect that definitely can be improved, and that is how government bodies and businesses interact. <...> The optimal solution, it would appear, would be to seamlessly integrate the interdepartmental EDM system and the EDM systems used by businesses,” Mikhail Srodnykh, General Director, SKB Kontur.
SOLUTIONS
Getting IT companies involved in training personnel for the sector
“There is indeed a disconnect between education and practice, which will continue to exist. <...> This can only be addressed in one way – by integrating the sector into the educational process to the greatest extent possible. <...> The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has four universities, located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, and Novosibirsk. It also has a number of branches. To start with, we need to build a large consortium around each of these universities, consisting of market players operating in key, fundamental areas. Those operating in the sector must be as involved as possible. We do not just envision professionals being involved as teachers, but also that companies in the market will help develop these universities. We see them developing equipment and facilities, working on joint initiatives, helping with innovations, and establishing centres where this work can be done together with students,” Alexander Khinshtein, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.
“In any case, we will have to introduce requirements for IT companies to participate in the education sector. We need to drastically increase the involvement of IT companies in the educational process,” Maksut Shadaev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.
“We are sorely lacking top-tier, good instructors, preferably from the industry. How do we attract someone from the industry? We could announce a competition, for example, whereby the 50 best instructors from the industry have their personal income tax waived,” Alexander Krainov, Director for Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Yandex.
“A lot of children have been taught programming. <...> Last year, we taught 13,500 children. Sberbank and Yandex were both involved in this. So, a lot of children know how a loop operator works. Then the industry says there are too many juniors. There are not too many; those are the ones who need to be fully trained up. That’s a difficult thing to do. <...> This year, 127,000 students were admitted to state-funded places. <...> This is a great opportunity for the industry to send their representatives to teach students, and to offer internships to the best ones,” Boris Nuraliev, Founder, Director, 1C.
*This is a translation of material that was originally generated in Russian using artificial intelligence.
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