Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies, stated that the development of artificial intelligence in Uzbekistan should primarily bring practical benefits to people. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he emphasized that the country's main goals are to create new jobs, increase the population's income, and improve the quality of life.
According to the minister, Uzbekistan is actively developing its IT sector and attracting foreign companies. While in 2017, only four companies with foreign capital operated in IT Park Uzbekistan, today more than 70 new offices of international IT companies open monthly in the country. The authorities aim not to send specialists abroad for work, but to create conditions for remote work within the country.
Shermatov noted that Uzbekistan does not plan to compete with global leaders in creating large language models. Instead, attention is focused on projects that help people earn more and receive higher quality services. Healthcare and education are named among the priority areas for AI implementation. The minister also recalled that, according to StartupBlink, Uzbekistan was recently recognized as the country with the highest growth rates in its startup ecosystem and received the status of "country of the year."