President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on ongoing reforms in artificial intelligence and digitalization, as well as future priority tasks, the presidential press service reported.

It was noted that systematic work is underway in the country to accelerate economic growth and improve people's lives through the introduction of digitalization and artificial intelligence.

In line with the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, priority tasks include increasing exports of IT services and software products to $5 billion, providing employment for 300,000 young people in the sector, and ranking among the world's top 30 countries in the UN E-Government Index.

The impact of digitalization on the economy has grown significantly in recent years. Over the past five years, gross value added in the sector increased by an average of 24.8%, 3.5 times faster than GDP growth. The number of people employed in information and communication networks rose from 64,300 in 2017 to 108,800, while the number of self-employed jumped from 10,000 to 181,000. Currently, over 11,900 enterprises operate in the sector, of which about 1,400 involve foreign capital.

Special attention was paid to digital education development. Under the '5 Million AI Leaders' project, over 1 million beginner-level course participants, more than 300,000 intermediate-level participants, and 1,500 professional-level specialists have been trained. Proposals were made to establish AI and startup rooms in schools.

The state of digital infrastructure in schools was also analyzed. It was noted that 69% of schools have no Wi-Fi zones, 5,000 computer classes are outdated, and 2,000 schools lack such rooms altogether. Therefore, concrete measures are needed to upgrade 16,000 computer classrooms by 2030, provide free Wi-Fi in schools, and increase internet speed.

Source: www.gazeta.uz