On May 30, 2025, the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) had the honor of hosting Mr. Sam Daws, Senior Advisor at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, University of Oxford.
During his visit, Mr. Daws engaged in a meaningful discussion with Dr. Huseyin Atakan Varol, Founding and General Director of ISSAI. Mr. Alaidar Amirseiit, Government Relations Manager, delivered a presentation highlighting ISSAI’s mission, research focus, and contributions to Kazakhstan’s growing AI ecosystem.
During the meeting, Dr. Varol emphasized the importance of long-term funding, sustainable infrastructure, and AI sovereignty as foundational elements for building a resilient and responsible national AI ecosystem. He stressed that ISSAI’s work goes beyond academic publications, focusing on the development of real-world AI products that serve societal and strategic needs.
A key point of discussion was the challenge of developing AI for low-resource languages, such as Kazakh. Dr. Varol noted that there is approximately 2,300 times more online content in English than in Kazakh, which significantly affects the performance of global AI models when applied to Kazakh language tasks. To address this disparity, ISSAI created Kaz-LLM, the first large language model tailored for the Kazakh language, with the goal of empowering linguistic and cultural representation in the digital age.
Mr. Daws expressed his admiration for ISSAI’s achievements, particularly its commitment to advancing the Kazakh language in AI despite limited computational resources. He acknowledged Kazakhstan’s strategic geopolitical position, diverse cultural landscape, and abundant talent, noting that these strengths position the country as a rising leader in ethical and inclusive AI development.
He also emphasized the importance of establishing strong AI governance frameworks, fostering international collaboration, and ensuring AI sovereignty to align AI technologies with national priorities and values.
This visit marks a significant step in fostering global dialogue on inclusive and responsible AI, and reaffirms ISSAI’s dedication to advancing AI research and innovation that reflects Kazakhstan’s unique linguistic, cultural, and strategic needs.