ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has ordered the creation of a digital transformation group, or digital headquarters, to accelerate AI integration in the economy and ensure full implementation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Aug. 11 instructions on AI development.
Photo credit: primeministerkz
Chaired by Bektenov, the group includes Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff, Chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, and Advisor to the President on Digitalization.
During an Aug. 12 meeting, participants focused on nine key areas defined by President Tokayev as priorities. These include the introduction of AI in the real sector of the economy, public administration, and healthcare; the development of the strategy for artificial intelligence and digital transformation; the improvement of public services and processes for handling appeals; the modernization of IT architecture; the launch of the national QazTech platform; ensuring cybersecurity; supporting domestic IT startups; and advancing Smart City projects.
Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev presented a report on approaches to ensuring the implementation of the President’s instructions, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
A priority task is the integration of artificial intelligence into the economy. In this regard, the government and the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund have begun developing a roadmap for the use of AI in production processes to increase labor productivity.
In the healthcare sector, new technologies will enable more accurate diagnostics, personalized treatment selection, continuous monitoring of patients’ conditions, and will free doctors from routine tasks, positively impacting the quality, transparency, and efficiency of services provided to the population. It is also important for domestic startups to gain access to the Healthcare Ministry’s infrastructure, transition to the Unified Medical Database, and more.
In the sphere of public services, work is underway to consolidate Aitu as a national messenger. Government agencies will be transferred to Aitu, while key participants in the ecosystem will be integrated into a single digital environment. This approach will create a modern, safe, and convenient system in which government services will be available to every citizen in one click. In addition, systematic work is planned to improve the architectural discipline of the country’s IT landscape, along with measures to strengthen data protection and cybersecurity.
According to Bektenov, challenges related to introducing AI technologies into all areas must be resolved quickly and in close cooperation.
“It is not only about improving the legal framework for the functioning of AI. It is necessary to address matters of data fragmentation, the lack of clear regulations for the distribution of supercomputer capacity, cybersecurity, and the complete transition to the QazTech platform. All these tasks are of strategic importance for the country’s digital transformation and must be completed by December of this year with a visible economic effect,” said Bektenov.
