The IT entrepreneur warned about a new form of colonialism and shared his vision of the future with artificial intelligence.

Arsen Tomsky, founder of the global InDrive travel service, praised Kazakhstan's digitalization in the new edition of the Taldau Talks podcast by Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev, but at the same time warned the country about serious risks in the era of artificial intelligence development.

Tomsky, who lived in the United States for four years until 2023, compared the digital services of the two countries in favor of Kazakhstan.

"Digitalization is much better here. For example, when I tried to get a document there, it could take a whole day. It was necessary to wait, but here it is done in an instant. And I would rate the degree of digitalization at probably 9.5 out of 10. The ministry is active here and does a lot. That's why we chose Kazakhstan after all these events," the entrepreneur explains the decision to move InDrive's head office from Russia to Almaty.

This assessment looks especially impressive against the background of statistics announced by the Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiev.:

• 90% of public services are available online
• 90% of transactions take place in a non-cash form
• Kazakhstan ranks 24th in the world in terms of e-government
• The country is in the TOP 10 in terms of the quality of online services.

Reflections on digital independence

During the conversation, Tomsky also shared the concept of "digital colonialism." Based on his international experience, the entrepreneur spoke about how large IT platforms can affect the economies of different countries. According to him, IT is an industry in which one company is able to exert a large—scale influence on the behavior of millions of people, shaping their daily habits through its own services.

"They can greatly influence what people think through this. Especially now, when artificial intelligence is starting to work more efficiently, there will be a very strong personalization. Or they may withdraw too much money, especially if they reach a high level of monopoly. This is actually a new kind of colonialism," Tomsky explains.

A specific example from his recent trip to Panama: "Uber makes much higher prices during rush hour. And of the amount she earns, she keeps almost 90% for herself." According to Arsen Tomsky, such practices lead to a massive outflow of capital from national economies.

To counteract digital colonialism, he proposes to impose limits on the activities of IT monopolies and actively support their manufacturers of digital products.

In addition, in the podcast, Arsen Tomsky shared the Almaty Air Initiative project to combat smog in Almaty using digital technologies. "We have been running the initiative for one year now, and we will soon install an additional 200 digital sensors. They will measure not only PM 2.5, but also a fairly wide range of different gases and heavy metals. We will probably have the most accurate digital map in the whole world."

This is a non-profit project aimed at reducing "environmental injustice." Tomsky also predicts that in five years, AI will be able to "very precisely control the traffic light system" to reduce congestion and smog.

Arsen Tomsky demonstrated an optimistic view of the potential of artificial intelligence by telling the story of how ChatGPT helped his classmate from Stanford diagnose his wife's illness in three hours, which the best doctors could not cope with for six months.

"This means that as soon as people in remote villages of Kazakhstan have access to such things, they will have the same access to quality medicine as a dollar billionaire," he explained the importance of AI development for rural areas.

The entrepreneur predicts changes: "I think that in five years, cures for many current incurable diseases will be found. AI gives us absolutely unique chances."

Despite his optimism, Tomsky highlighted the significant risks of artificial intelligence development.:

• Systems should not be allowed to "self-learn uncontrollably"
• It is necessary to limit their access to create their own mechanisms.
• It is important to limit participation in military technology
• It is necessary to carefully set goals for AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)

Arsen Tomsky spoke about inVisionU at Satbayev University. "We are launching the foundation this year, and the bachelor's degree next year. Tuition is free, we pay for the students ourselves," he said.

The aim of the project is to train leaders with "strong life values" aimed at contributing to the development of the world and Kazakhstan.

As a final message, Tomsky formulated a strategy for the country.:

1.  Create a strong national idea to attract talent
2.  Build an effective system for selecting and training leaders
3.  To take advantage of natural advantages – a huge territory for hosting data centers
4.  Develop renewable energy (especially relevant for AI)
5.  Provide stable high-speed internet
6.  Guarantee political stability and business protection

The guests of the new edition of the Taldau Talks podcast, in addition to Tomsk, were Minister of Digital Development Jaslan Madiev and head of Kazpost Assel Zhanasova. The full version of the podcast is available on the YouTube channel of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.