‘AI Is a Tool, and Those Who Master It Will Have a Competitive Advantage’

© Lola Sharifova / HSE University

HSE University is hosting the FIT-M 2022 International Scientific Forum. As part of this event, the HSE Cultural Centre held a series of lectures on November 29­–30. On December 7–9, guests of the forum will have three days of practical work with scientists, IT industry leaders, businesspeople, and industry experts.

FIT-M 2022 is a new communication venue comprising four formats: the MACSPro conference, a reactor, a hackathon, and a ‘lectorium’. This will quickly allow participants to understand the main trends in the use of modern information technologies for scientific and applied research.

The first part of the forum is a lectorium—a series of 15 lectures selected by the organisers for a wide audience. The lectures were selected over a year through an open international competition. The speakers of the lecture series spoke to the HSE News Service about the scientific topics and problems covered in their presentations.

Ivan Karpushkin

© Lola Sharifova / HSE University

Ivan Karpushkin, Head of the Rapid Foresight Methodology Development, NGO NTI Platform, talks about the current approach to technoculture. ‘This method is used to figure out how technology affects culture, society, and the individual, and how the individual and society, in turn, affect the development of technology. This is a kind of intersection of the sociosphere, anthroposphere, and technosphere,’ he explains. Ivan Karpushkin also notes that we have now plunged into a new wave of rapid technological development and we have once again become dependent on technology. Although technology should make our life easier, expanding our opportunities, we do not understand where it will take us. This raises the question of the ethics of AI and digitalisation,’ he adds. ‘This topic is becoming particularly acute now,’ says Ivan Karpushkin. ‘How far can people push their capabilities by using technology? What technology is acceptable and what is not? What decisions can we entrust to technology? Is it possible to entrust them with human life or controlling potentially hazardous objects such as vehicles or planes? All these questions arise both at the level of managing certain large processes and at the level of everyday things, such as whether you can entrust your schedule to your phone.’

Andrey Komissarov

© Lola Sharifova / HSE University

Andrey Komissarov, Director of Data-Driven Human Development at 2035 University, gave a lecture entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence: The 2022 Revolution and Its Impact on the Emergence and Disappearance of Professions.’ ‘Artificial Intelligence in Education’, a collection of articles about various AI developments and implementations, was recently published in Russia. A chapter on Russian AI practices in education was subsequently added to the collection, and related material can be found on Andrey Komissarov's Education Design Telegram channel. ‘In my lecture, I discuss a number of things. First, what is happening in AI? There is an interesting revolution going on there, and it has to do with generative neural networks, which are squeezing a number of professions out of the market. Second, what are we are doing? We are dealing with AI-based tools for education and labour market analysis. Third, what is the difference between strong and weak AI?’ he explains. He adds that AI does not seek to replace teachers. ‘Artificial intelligence is yet another tool that humans can use,’ he stresses. ‘And those who master this tool will have a competitive advantage over those who say, “No, we don't need it.”’

 On December 7, at the official opening of the forum, guests will be able to ask questions about modern technological trends in science, industry, and business. The Q&A session will be held by the heads and staff of HSE Tikhonov MIEM (HSE University), Lomonosov Moscow State University, ITMO, Mendeleev Russian Chemical Technology University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, RANEPA, the Russian Academy of Sciences, MIREA Russian Technological University, as well as the technical directors of international innovative IT companies such as ANNA Systems, Sberbank, Wangsu, Yandex, LUKOIL Technology, FS Labs, Selectel, Ozon Fintech, etc.

 At the MACSPro conference, participants will discuss the challenges of modelling and analysing complex systems and processes.

 The reactor will host a series of master classes, intensive courses, and workshops to boost professional skills in the most in-demand areas of IT implementation in scientific research, industrial engineering, and business processes.

 The hackathon will bring together programmers, developers, scientists, mathematicians, system analysts and technologists. Working in teams, they will have to find new solutions to IT problems.