AIES at the Astana International Forum
AIES Director Michael Zinkanell participated and spoke at the Astana International Forum
Jun 09, 2023 / Astana / Kazakhstan / Global Affairs / EU Neighbourhood
The Astana International Forum was organised on 9 and 10 of June in the capital of Kazakhstan under the central theme: Tackling Challenges Through Dialogue: Towards Cooperation, Development, and Progress. Over 1.000 international participants attended the Forum’s highly relevant panel discussions and sessions, which were structured in the four thematic areas: Foreign Policy and International Security, International Development and Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change, and Economy and Finance.
AIES Director Michael Zinkanell moderated the high-level panel discussion: “Digitalisation and AI: Impact and Implications” with Bagdat Mussin, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Arkadiy Dobkin, CEO and President at EPAM Systems; Alexander Sukharevsky, Managing Partner QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey; Michelle Simmons, President Central Europe and Central Asia, Microsoft; Olga Skorokhodova, Head of Central Asia, Caucasus region, Russia and Moldova, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Emerging Markets, Google; and Bakhytzhan Dos, CEO, Founder of the GoatChat AI.
The session was covering the potentials and challenges of Artificial Intelligence, in particular related to ethical and legal considerations, including issues of privacy, bias, and accountability. The panellists agreed that AI will have a tremendous effect on our professional and private lives with significant implications on the socio-economic and political environment, however, that it is too early to identify the exact scope and specific impacts. The speakers concluded that there is the urgent need for an enhanced inclusive collaboration between public, private and civil society stakeholders to ensure a responsible development and application of AI.
The link to the session can be found here (June 9, 10:00-11:15):
https://astanainternationalforum.org/program
In addition, Michael Zinkanell participated at the Astana International Forum as part of the international media team, which granted him access to exclusive conversations with the minister of National Economy, Kuantyrov Alibek and the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Mussin amongst other representatives. Michael Zinkanell also had the opportunity to discuss relevant geopolitical developments and matters of international security with experts from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President and the Institute of World Economics and Politics.
