Bulgaria: AI as a Service Provider, Not Just a Consumer

Bulgaria should strive to be a provider of high-tech services based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and not just a consumer. This was the main message of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev at the international conference "Artificial Intelligence and IT Audit in Defense of Public Resources", which is being held in a Sofia hotel.

The atmosphere in the hall is lively, as experts and representatives of the government discuss the future of AI and its application in the public sector. Bulgaria, Donchev emphasized, already has its own language model, developed in Bulgarian, and should use all opportunities for its wide and systematic application. This includes not only the state administration, but also the provision of services with high added value for business.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the fact that the National Audit Office has already implemented AI in its audit activities, unlike other state institutions, which, in his words, meet this technology with some apprehension.

In the conditions of the rapid entry of AI, which will transform human societies and relationships, Deputy Prime Minister Donchev outlined two main approaches. The first is sabotaging progress, and the second is the active implementation of new technologies.

Donchev criticized the European Union for its approach to first regulate AI, while the United States and China are focusing on its development. He is convinced that AI will be the main driver of economic growth in the next decade.

In addition to preserved human capital, Bulgaria also needs the appropriate infrastructure, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized. In this regard, he pointed out the importance of the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technologies (INSAIT) and the AI factory being built in "Sofia Tech Park" – "BRAIN ++".

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov officially opened the international conference "Artificial Intelligence and IT Audit in Defense of Public Resources". Among the participants in the forum is the Minister of Electronic Governance Valentin Mundrov. Those present in the hall also include the Director General of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Kiril Vulchev.

The conference is held in connection with the 145th anniversary of the establishment of the National Audit Office.