In his opinion, in such a situation it is necessary to do the opposite: do not try to make all microelectronics.
Skoltech Rector Alexander Kuleshov took part in the session "Artificial Intelligence: Personnel, Technologies, Prospects" as part of the business program of the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The participants of the discussion talked about the development of artificial intelligence, new niches for the introduction of Russian developments, measures to support the IT industry by the state, as well as about attracting the best personnel and creating comfortable conditions for them.
"In science, sometimes it happens that first we get experimental data, and only then comes a theory that explains everything. It's the same with artificial intelligence – for a long time it was a mysterious black box, with which someone worked better, someone worse, and now the magic element has departed and AI has begun to turn into an exact science," he said Alexander Kuleshov in the discussion of further development of the region.
Kuleshov stressed that currently the introduction of artificial intelligence is everywhere, and for the institute the priority is the joint use of the components of the triad – AI, 5G and MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing). This interaction of interconnected technologies is being implemented in Skoltech's 5G pilot zone. The first Russian platform for testing MEC capabilities has also been deployed on the territory of the Institute. According to Kuleshov, nowadays there are no areas of knowledge in which artificial intelligence could not lead to serious results.
The discussion touched upon the topic of personnel shortage and providing the development area with the best employees. "This is certainly a difficult problem. We produce about 140-150 specialists in the field of artificial intelligence per year and prepare them well. So good that they easily get a job in Western companies, and the salaries there are much higher than our seemingly very high salaries of IT specialists. We at Skoltech believe that young people should be shown a perspective in advance, given the opportunity to develop their projects. This way we will be able to stop this outflow of specialists," Alexander Kuleshov believes.
Kuleshov noted that at the world's leading A* class conferences, only 20 people from Russia publish publications on a regular basis, and these are the very people who should teach students. "We need to try to attract such specialists to Russia. It's hard, but not impossible," concluded the rector of Skoltech.
At the session of the SPIEF "New Growth", which was moderated by the Chairman of VEB.Igor Shuvalov, Kuleshov also commented on the opportunities for the development of Russian technologies and their export to world markets in the current situation:
"I am not losing reasonable optimism at all, but it seems to me that it is necessary to set goals correctly. Our goal is still set as a percentage of import substitution. For example, if I can do 99% myself, and I have to buy 1%. What's the difference: I don't have a product anyway? The basis is based on incorrect criteria. We need to analyze how many technological chains up to the last product we can do on our own. And in this sense, it is very important to find those missing components that we are not creating now, and make them ourselves. We need to focus on this," Kuleshov said.
The Rector of Skoltech noted that Russia cannot eliminate the huge gap that has arisen, for example, in microelectronics. In his opinion, in such a situation it is necessary to do the opposite: "Do not try to do all the microelectronics. We understand that we need base stations now. In these base stations, even if they are completely made of imported elements, there are two or three critical elements that we cannot buy in "friendly" countries, so they need to be made. First you need to understand what is absolutely necessary, and then try to do it."
Shuvalov, for his part, noted that first-class, world-class laboratories have been created on the basis of Skoltech, which offer technologies, patents for industrial production and supply developments to international giants. Chairman of VEB.The Russian Federation asked the rector of the Institute about the prospects for technological developments. In response, Kuleshov stressed that he hopes that the current conditions will change the paradigm of public administration related to technological sovereignty. "There is no need to strive to produce everything ourselves – it is impossible. It is necessary to highlight the key points," Kuleshov said.
