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APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE RUSSIAN
ECONOMY
Novikova A.D.
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: [email protected] Khripunova M.B., candidate of phys-math. Sciences, Associate Professor Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract. This article provides an analysis of the use of artificial intelligence in the modern economy of the Russian Federation. The relevance of studying the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy is substantiated and a list of the possibilities of new technologies that can be useful in business is given. The measures taken by the Government to expand the use of artificial intelligence by Russian companies, including small and medium businesses, are examined. The study is based on information taken from modern scientific literature, Internet resources and statistical data in both Russian and English. Examples from foreign practice are given, their effectiveness is analyzed, and data from surveys of businessmen using artificial intelligence in their companies is presented. The result of the study is the author's suggestion of a way to increase the involvement of domestic business representatives in the use of the latest technologies.
Keywords: economy, artificial intelligence, Russian economy, digital economy, business.
ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА В РОССИЙСКОЙ
ЭКОНОМИКЕ
Новикова А.Д.
Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, Москва, Россия
E-mail: [email protected] Хрипунова М.Б., к.ф.м.н., доцент Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, Москва, Россия
E-mail: [email protected]
Аннотация. В данной статье приведен анализ применения искусственного интеллекта в современной экономике Российской Федерации. Обоснована актуальность изучения влияния искусственного интеллекта на сферу экономики и приведен перечень возможностей новых технологий, которые могут быть полезны в бизнесе. Рассмотрены предпринимаемые Правительством меры по расширению использования искусственного интеллекта российскими компаниями, включая малые и средние предприятия. Исследование основано на информации, взятой из современной научной литературы, Интернет ресурсов и статистических данных как на русском, так и на английском языках. Приведены примеры из зарубежной практики, проанализирована их эффективность, а также представлены данные опросов бизнесменов, использующих искусственный интеллект в своих компаниях. Результатом исследования является предложение автором способа повышения вовлеченности представителей отечественного бизнеса в использование новейших технологий.
Ключевые слова: экономика, искусственный интеллект, российская экономика, цифровая экономика, бизнес.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of artificial intelligence (later referred to as AI) in the modern economy of the Russian Federation and to examine foreign experience in this area based on scientific literature, Internet resources and statistical data.
With the increasing role that computers play in people's lives in the 21st century, the problem of the AI development and the expansion of its use in everyday life is one of the most relevant in the world.
Now, robotics is used to make diagnoses in medicine, provide almost complete automation of industry and agriculture, traffic control and employee
training. In the year 2017, for the first time in history, a humanoid robot named Sofia, created by Hanson Robotics was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship and was recognized as a member of the human society. In modern conditions of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the relevance of the development of new technologies becomes obvious, as a significant part of the population is forced to stay at home for security reasons. In the past, a pandemic could have triggered a wider crisis in the economy, while now there is hope that its negative effects will be reduced. Thanks to the new technologies, many people can work from
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home, and universities and schools are switching to distance learning.
Before starting to analyze the use of AI in business, let's consider the concept of artificial intelligence, its brief description and capabilities. The term "artificial intelligence" was first used by an American computer scientist and Turing Prize winner John McCarthy in the year 1956 at a conference at the University of Dartmouth. Today, the term artificial intelligence means algorithms and software systems that can solve problems in a way similar to humans. One of the most widely used and rapidly developing areas of AI research is machine learning, in which previous data or examples are applied to the formation and improvement of the prediction scheme. The core of artificial intelligence, which plays a key role in the practice of machine learning, is Big Data. Big data serves as an indispensable tool for storing information about various subject areas. Big data usually refers to a system of structured and unstructured diverse data of huge volumes, as well as a set of technologies, methods, tools and approaches that serve to process arrays of information that cannot be processed in generally accepted, traditional ways.
The list of capabilities of artificial intelligence includes speech and image recognition (deep learning method); analysis and understanding of images used to interpret the environment (computer vision); understanding and synthesis of human language (natural language processing function).
The possible results of using AI in the field of economics include increase in profit after providing an efficient response to changing market conditions, development of successful marketing strategies, minimization of the human factor, prevention of fraudulent activity and calculation of pricing beneficial for the enterprise.
Let's take a look at the global experience of using AI in business. According to a Harvard Business Review [10] survey, which involved 250 business executives who successfully introduced AI into production, 51% noted the improvement in product quality and performance, 36% praised the optimisation of internal business operations, and another 36% noted that after delegating routine work to machines the workers had shown more creativity (see Figure 1). This survey suggests that the use of AI can take the business to the next level.
Enhance the features, functions, and performance of our products
Optimize internal business operations
Free up workers to be more creative by automating tasks
Make better decisions
Create new products
Optimize external processes like marketing and sales
Pursue new markets
Capture and apply scarce knowledge where needed
Reduce head count through automation
51%
36
36
35
32
30
25
25
22
Figure 1. The benefits of using AI in business [10] According to a study involving more than 2,500 least inclined to implement AI are small and medium-businessmen and 17 experts, published in October sized enterprises. According to ScaleFactor statistics 2019 by MIT Sloan Management Review and BCG, [9], based on a survey of 500 principals of U.S. 90% of respondents invested in the use of AI [6]. The companies, the more employees there are in a
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company, the more likely this company is to invest in AI. Thus, 72% of medium businesses are already using AI, while another 20% are planning to start. Whereas in small businesses, only 41% are currently using AI, and 39% expressed the hope to use it in the
MEDIUM BUSINESSES
SMALL BUSINESSES
«B
Figure 2. Use of AI by small and medium businesses in the U.S.A. [9]
Let's consider the state of Russia in terms of the high technology development and the scale of its application in the economic sphere, as well as measures taken by the Government in this direction. "The ability to work with artificial intelligence should be a mandatory requirement for any profession — in economics, business, education, healthcare or law enforcement. And, of course, at all levels of government," said the Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 9, 2019, at the AI Journey conference. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation through to 2024" [3] containing a promising national project "Digital Economy" [5], aimed at the mass introduction of new high-tech projects, such as AI, into production. To implement this program, the Government lays down a budget of approximately 2.16 trillion rubles [4]. This indicates that the Government is providing the necessary support to the industry. The federal project "Personnel for the Digital Economy", which is part of the "Digital Economy" project, aims to meet the demand for qualified specialists who can accelerate the process of introducing AI into the economy.
Now, one can note the extremely successful application of new technologies by leading Russian
companies. For example, the additional income of Sberbank after introducing AI in the year 2019 reached 700 million dollars [2]. Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank, at the World Economic Forum in Davos shared information that in the year 2020 the bank expects a billion-dollar increase in profit. Sberbank did not limit itself to using AI itself and teamed up with such economic titans as Mail.ru Group, Yandex, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), MTS and Gazprom Neft to promote Russian technologies. Together, these companies plan to create technological components in the field of artificial intelligence, help develop the regulatory framework, attract investments, conduct research (jointly providing demand for them and forming training grounds for testing solutions), and work on advancing technologies in the field of AI and training new personnel. Sberbank also developed the federal project "Artificial Intelligence", for the implementation of which it is planned to allocate 120 billion rubles [8].
Among the aspects that could be improved, one can point out that the owners of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia do not show much interest in new technologies. According to a WCIOM survey [10] conducted in October 2019 by order of the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation, 91% of respondents are aware of AI technology, yet only 31% are actively using them. 43% of business representatives said that they do not use AI and have no plans of doing so. As can be seen from the foreign statistics mentioned above, in the United States the percentage of both the use of AI in business and the willingness to use it is higher. Nevertheless, far from all foreign businesses manage to increase profits after investing in AI. Using global statistics as an example, let's look at what successful companies have in common to use their experience in the domestic market. According to the MIT Sloan Management Review and BCG [6], companies that profit from the implementation of AI,
1. Integrate their AI implementation strategy into their overall business plan;
2. Prioritize revenue growth over cost reduction, making larger and often riskier investments in AI;
future (see Figure 2).
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3. Understand that it is necessary to invest in employees no less than in technology. After all, AI is a tool, not an end goal, and it is up to people who work with it to make the company successful.
Because of this research let's consider how the involvement of Russian businessmen in the use of AI could be increased. Let's return to the statistics of WCIOM [9]. It is curious that the most common reasons for rejecting AI in Russian businesses are: lack of need and interest (37%), their field, according to the respondents, does not need AI technologies (28%) and lack of knowledge (11%). Only 8% of respondents mentioned large financial investments. From the data presented, it can be concluded that the dissemination of accessible information about the benefits of AI, as well as stories of its successful application in various industries, can be an effective measure to increase interest in AI among Russian businessmen. Perhaps not much less effective than subsidies and other financial incentives.
To conclude, artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of the future of the global economy. The pace of implementation of AI in business in the modern world is growing exponentially. The Government of the Russian Federation is actively taking the measures necessary to ensure the technological and economic growth of our country.
References
[1] Artificial intelligence and business: is there contact? https://wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=10068
[2] Artificial intelligence helped Sberbank earn an additional $ 700 million for the year. https://www.vedomosti.ru/finance/news/2020/01/23/821352 -iskusstvennii-intellekt-pomog
[3] Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation through to 2024" dated 05.07.2018, No. 204. Source of publication: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/43027
[4] Medvedev approved the budget of the national program "Digital Economy". https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/17/09/2018/5b9f ab7a9a79471b3b2c1412
[5] National Program Digital Economy of the Russian Federation (approved by the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, Minutes No. 7 of 06/04/2019). Source of publication: https://data-economy.ru/#rec38557658
[6] S. Ransbotham, S. Khodabandeh, R. Fehling, B. LaFountain, D. Kiron. Winning With AI // MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group. — 2019. (дата обращения 6.04.2020)
[7] Savina S. V. On the application of artificial intelligence in the economic sphere. //Samoupravlenie. —2019, №4.—P. 297299.
[8] Sberbank explained to the state how to spend 120 billion on artificial intelligence. https://www.cnews.ru/news/top/2019-12-11_sberbank_obyasnil_gosudarstvu
[9] The State of SMB Finance. https://scalefactor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/State-of-SMB-Finance-Report.pdf?hsCtaTracking=78651a55-2377-46a8-9c61-c3bdd0fa06bf%7Ce7128842-dbc7-448b-9425-ef2ac4caf831 (дата обращения 6.04.2020)
[10] Thomas H. Davenport, Rajeev Ronanki. Artificial Intelligence for the Real World. // Harvard Business Review. — 2018. https://hbr.org/2018/01/artificial-intelligence-for-the-real-world (дата обращения 6.04.2020)
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