— We know that Sber is a generative AI leader in Russia. What areas are you focusing on at the moment?

— In October, the State of AI report clearly indicated that investors understand the importance of AI. Over the past 10 years, the value of all AI companies has grown 30-fold to more than USD 9 tn. At the same time, artificial intelligence is impacting not only business but also scientific discoveries. This year, the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry was awarded for AI-related topics.

We have created several globally competitive GenAI models, such as GigaChat MAX, which can answer user questions, maintain a dialog, create texts, and write code. It knows how to work with documents, analyze and summarize them. We also have the Kandinsky AI model, which was the first in Russia to learn how to generate high-quality images based on text descriptions in just a few seconds. Last year, it became the first model in the country capable of generating video from text.

As for the further development of GenAI, our goal now is to create AI assistants for various professions, first of all, for our employees. For example, we have created GigaCode, an AI assistant for developers that speeds up coding by suggesting the most likely and relevant prompts. It knows more than 35 programming languages.

— Is Sber ready to share its AI technology?

—Of course. Sber is ready to share its experience and expertise with foreign partners, while saving money on R&D and offering advanced off-the-shelf solutions, including large language models, digital assistants, and image, text, and voice recognition models.

African countries are no exception. We see how they are now actively moving forward and are happy to share their AI solutions. These include solutions for predicting climate risks and improving agriculture and healthcare. Our experts are also ready to hold AI transformation design sessions for African governments and demonstrate the possibilities of innovation-driven technologies.

— What do you think of Egypt’s willingness to implement artificial intelligence?

— We have Digital Peter, a joint project to decipher ancient manuscripts using our AI technologies. It started in our country with the recognition of Peter the Great’s manuscripts. Now we are working with Egyptian specialists to carefully preserve and decipher manuscripts on fragile papyrus scrolls. I am sure that this project will lead to important historical discoveries.

The Arab region has witnessed significant technological transformation and innovation over the past decade. However, countries’ domestic contexts differ, which affects their ambitions to incorporate technological advances, especially AI, into policies, strategies and institutions. Some countries have adopted advanced technology rapidly, but there are others that are still in the early stages of developing their AI strategies.

Artificial intelligence in Egypt is evolving rapidly. The country’s national AI strategy is based on three pillars: education and training, big data and information to implement megaprojects, and making the data available to the private sector.

— There is AI Alliance Russia, with Sber as a key member. What are the upsides of major AI players cooperating?

— The biggest players forging this Alliance is justified. We share common interests: accelerated AI progress on the national and even international scale. Therefore, we are actively engaged in human resource development. The Alliance’s efforts to bridge AI staff shortages may be divided into two blocks. Participation in the training of qualified professionals and popularization of AI culture in the country. This includes the training of qualified customers and AI specialists.

The Alliance also focuses on sharing best practices in AI development and use. Partners and Sber share best practices with AI businesses. To accelerate the deployment of AI across the Russian economy, we need to widely publicize the success stories of companies that have achieved significant business growth results driven by AI technology.

I heard that the BRICS countries are discussing cooperation among AI companies.

— Moscow is soon hosting AI Journey, an international conference organized by Sber. As usual, the event will be attended by the world’s leading experts, including those from Africa. What do you expect from one of the main global AI events of the year?

— For three days, AI Journey is set to be the key platform where the future is born, where professionals discuss the role of AI in helping humans, and generate new ideas and meanings. More than 200 speakers from all over the world will speak at the conference. Traditionally, the program is divided into three tracks: science, business and society. For example, experts from South Africa will talk about the trends behind AI use in various industries, cross-border cooperation, and the issues of scaling AI solutions in regulatory and legal matters. They will address the importance of ESG in the modern world and its synergy with AI technology, look at how AI may catalyze the attainment of ESG goals, from environmental sustainability to social responsibility and governance, in all detail.

The underlying idea behind AI Journey 2024 is artificial intelligence as an assistant in all aspects of life, a tool that helps each of us to achieve more and drive our potential, thus developing the country, speaking more generally. Held in a hybrid format, the event will also be available as a webcast on the website. Therefore, I invite everyone who is interested in artificial intelligence, who develops this technology or applies it in work and life, to become a participant in our three-day journey into the world of AI capabilities.