Boris Bratina: Cooperation Helps Smaller Countries Access New Knowledge and Technology
The 2nd Global Digital Forum is continuing in Moscow at the Mechta venue in Gorky Park. Representatives from different countries are exploring prospects for artificial intelligence, technological sovereignty and international scientific cooperation.
Boris Bratina, Serbia’s minister of information and telecommunications, shared his impressions of the forum with IT Russia and explained why international partnerships are becoming essential for smaller countries to advance science and technology.
– We’re very glad to be here at this forum, and we hope to learn a lot of useful and interesting things. I was impressed that the program goes beyond IT to cover a wide range of topics.
Today, every country is developing artificial intelligence and creating its own models. I’d like smaller countries like Serbia to be able to develop models that work in their own languages, too. But that requires resources that many countries simply don’t have. Major powers can pursue a wide range of technological fields on their own, while smaller countries have to choose their priorities. Serbia can’t invest heavily in every sector at once, so cooperation between countries is essential.
This applies not only to artificial intelligence but also to biotechnology, quantum computing, nuclear energy and other promising fields. For example, I was impressed by the scale of China’s scientific resources, where 60,000 engineers can be mobilized to tackle challenges. Smaller countries don’t have that kind of capacity, so it’s important for them to pool their efforts.
At the same time, technological development must go hand in hand with discussions of ethical issues. I’m not particularly fond of the term “artificial intelligence” itself: it’s a machine, and a machine can’t have consciousness. Like any other technology, AI can be used for good or for harm. That’s why it’s important to establish rules that help ensure it is used for the benefit of people. Technology shouldn’t be viewed solely in terms of its political and military applications, and science should be advanced for constructive purposes.
As for technological sovereignty, it’s mainly large countries such as Russia, the United States and China that can develop everything they need entirely on their own. For other countries, cooperation is a way to gain access to new knowledge and technology.
We hope to expand cooperation with the Russian Federation not only in artificial intelligence but also in energy, other areas of technology and culture.
