July 4, 2025 — Astana Hub
Yerbol Absalyamov, Executive Director of the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI), took part as a speaker at the AI-SANA meet-up “From Inertia to Anticipation”, an open forum on Kazakhstan’s role in the age of artificial intelligence. Held at Astana Hub, the event brought together policymakers, technology experts, and thought leaders to discuss how the country can shape its own AI trajectory — as a creator, not just a consumer.
During the session “Technologies, Scenarios, and Infrastructure”, Mr. Absalyamov gave a presentation on ISSAI and its key research projects. He introduced the institute’s recent innovations, including the Kazakh Large Language Model (KazLLM), the multimodal model Oylan2, the real-time subtitle service TilSync, the multilingual AI speech platform MangiSoz, and the image generation model Beynele. He also spoke about the development of Mangitas 01 — ISSAI’s locally assembled inference server — as part of the effort to address hardware accessibility within Kazakhstan.
During the open discussion, Yerbol Absalyamov addressed several key challenges and priorities for Kazakhstan’s AI development. He raised the issue of how recently delivered government-funded supercomputers would be distributed and managed, emphasizing the need for clarity and transparency around their allocation and conditions of use.
He also highlighted the importance of supporting the scientific community, noting that researchers and academic institutions should be actively involved and backed as part of the national AI agenda.
In addition, he called for greater trust in local professionals and emphasized the need to attract and retain young Kazakhstani talent in the AI field. According to him, long-term success depends on empowering domestic experts and creating opportunities for the next generation of innovators.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by Presidential Advisor Kuanyshbek Yesekeyev and included keynote speeches by Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev and Vice Minister Dmitry Mun. The final panel featured an open discussion on Kazakhstan’s possible paths in AI. Mr. Absalyamov’s contribution reaffirmed ISSAI’s position: Kazakhstan can and should shape its own AI future, grounded in local knowledge, ethical values, and open innovation.