Natalya Kaspersky, President of InfoWatch Group, was an ambassador of the Russian IT sector at the sixth annual World Government Summit held in Dubai (UAE) on February 10-14, 2018. This high-profile global event brings together government leaders, prominent politicians, people of business, science, and culture to discuss government control processes and challenges faced by the world today.
The Summit 2018 participants, including Narendra Damodardas Modi, Prime Minister of India, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, and Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, mainly spoke about how emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), will shape the future of government control and social and economic processes around the globe.
As part of the summit, Natalya Kaspersky was personally invited by His Excellency Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Managing Director of the World Government Summit, to join the Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence round table, where three work groups from different countries shared real-life cases and views on AI technology features, benefits, and adoption risks for government, manufacturing, and social sectors. Since 2015, the UAE has been implementing its Vision 2021, a national development strategy with a focus on the most advanced technologies and an ambition to transform the UAE into a regional and global Technology Center. In addition, in 2017, the UAE Government established the Ministry for Artificial Intelligence to coordinate AI-related activities.
“The summit participants expressed opposite opinions on implementing artificial intelligence technology in the government control sector. One group of experts argued that governments should not stand in the way of booming AI, another one came up with an idea to determine processes and technology descriptions to make AI more predictable, while others were concerned about data confidentiality. Personally, I believe that we need to thoroughly assess all risks of any technology before its adoption in government control and various sectors of economy, especially when it comes to integrated and powerful AI systems,” noted Natalya Kaspersky. “In the case of poor risk assessment and lack of built-in cybersecurity tools, AI technology may cause major problems in the future.”
As part of the summit, Natalya Kaspersky and Kristina Tantsyura, CEO of InfoWatch Gulf (UAE), held a series of work meetings with Her Excellency Shamma Bint Suhail Bin Faris Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, to discuss InfoWatch educational initiatives to be implemented jointly with leading UAE universities.
“We are delighted that the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence recognized InfoWatch success, competence, and expertise in cybersecurity in the Middle East and invited us personally to join the summit. As a result, the UAE government officials expressed their support and took interest in our endeavors, including educational initiatives,” said Kristina Tantsyura, CEO of InfoWatch Gulf (UAE).
The participation in the summit has become yet another step on InfoWatch’s journey in the Middle East that began in 2017 when InfoWatch Gulf was established in Dubai. For the Middle East market, InfoWatch Traffic Monitor, featuring its module InfoWatch Vision, is a flagship product of the company, with TaigaPhone hardware and software suite also introduced at GITEX Technology Week 2017 in Dubai. In 2017, InfoWatch Gulf signed its first commercial contracts with UAE partners, with the resulting projects currently in progress.
Background
The World Government Summit (www.worldgovernmetsummit.org) has been held annually in Dubai by the UAE Government since 2011, bringing together government officials from all over the world for a global dialogue about government control and politics with a focus on technology and innovation. The summit is a knowledge sharing center for government officials, thought leaders, politicians, and business people, that traditionally attracts 4,000+ delegates and 90+ speakers from at least 150 countries.
