On November 17, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion on the issue of technological sovereignty in the modern world.
Globalisation, in its former form, apparently no longer exists. Before our eyes, the international division of labour is narrowing and localising, established production and logistics chains are collapsing, and the Internet is becoming less open. Such trends are pushing countries to seek measures to promote technological sovereignisation.
In the context of unprecedented external sanctions, Russia has paid special attention to the formation and maintenance of technological sovereignty. The priorities of scientific and technological development have already been determined, the efforts of the state and business community to finance scientific research are being consolidated, and personnel are being trained for the new economy. Despite limited access to Western technology, there is a window of opportunity for the accelerated development of Russian scientific and technological potential.
Other countries and regions are also interested in rolling out technological sovereignty. The European Union aims to master key advanced technologies in the field of microelectronics, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and lockchain. China is betting on the development of artificial intelligence, quantum science and the production of superconductors, while India is actively developing the semiconductor industry and electronics.
At the same time, technological protectionism and a low level of knowledge sharing persist in the world. This state of affairs leads us to think about the measures necessary to ensure technological development and analyse the experience of individual countries and regions. How sovereign is Russia technologically? Which countries should Russia turn to in order to learn from experience? What measures should be taken to achieve technological autonomy in the EU and in Asian countries, and how effective are they? These and other were discussed by the participants of the discussion.
Speakers:
- Arvind Gupta, Head and Co-Founder of Digital India Foundation
- Ivan Danilin, Head of the Department of Science and Innovation, IMEMO RAS
- Glenn Diesen, Professor at the University of Southeast Norway (Norway)
- Stanislav Kulbyatsky, Deputy Director of the National Centre for the Development of Artificial Intelligence under the Government of the Russian Federation
- Anastasia Tolstukhina, Programme Manager and Website Editor of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC)
Moderator:
- Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club.