On December 27, 2024, the short documentary titled “AI Alem”, produced by the Presidential Television and Radio Complex was released on Abai TV channel and YouTube. The film includes interviews with ISSAI Founding Director, Prof. Atakan Varol, and ISSAI Executive Director Yerbol Absalyamov, and Deputy Director for External Relations and Product Madina Abdrakhmanova.
In the documentary, they discussed the level of development of artificial intelligence in Kazakhstan. Prof. Varol highlighted key factors influencing AI development: data, computational resources, and workforce. He noted that the ISSAI team developed a foundational ISSAI Kaz-LLM model and was involved in all stages of this project: from data collection and cleaning to training and deployment of the model. This provided valuable experience for the team of local researchers. Yerbol Absalyamov emphasized the importance of Kazakhstan developing its large language model to remain competitive in the global AI landscape. Madina Abdrakhmanova pointed out the risks associated with using free platforms, including potential data breaches that could affect national security. She highlighted the need for Kazakhstan to create its language models and AI systems to ensure digital sovereignty.
The film also featured interviews with the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Zhaslan Madiyev, the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, the founder of Silk Road Innovation Hub, Aset Abdualiyev, and representatives from other local IT companies.
The documentary film is available on YouTube