BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, June 13. StrategEast, an independent organization focused on the development of the digital economy in Eurasia, in collaboration with Google, has launched the Build with AI for Sustainable Growth project in Central Asia and the Caucasus, Trend reports.
According to StrategEast, the program was launched within the framework of the Central Asia-Mongolia-Caucasus-Afghanistan (CAMCA) Regional Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
This multi-month initiative aims to bring together developers from across the region to tackle sustainability challenges using AI technology. The initiative will be implemented in coordination with and supported by the governments of the region.
As part of the Build with AI for Sustainable Growth program, Google and StrategEast experts will conduct a series of hackathons and workshops for technical professionals. These sessions will utilize AI tools based on Google's advanced large language model, Gemini, to find solutions to sustainability issues in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The finale of the program, in the form of a hackathon, is planned to take place in Astana in the fall of 2024. Top developer teams from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia will present their prototypes or even ready-made products for sustainable development in critical areas such as:
- Improving air and water quality
- Environment, health, and quality of life
- Land degradation, desertification, declining biodiversity, and
consequent deforestation
- Management and conservation of water resources, including
protection against depletion
- Agriculture and food security
Olga Skorokhodova, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for the Caucasus and Central Asia at Google, noted that the corporation is actively working to address economic and social development issues through AI technologies.
"We hope that the Build with AI for Sustainable Growth program will contribute to achieving this important goal," she added.
Since the beginning of 2024, Google has already held 27 seminars and workshops in various Central Asian and Caucasus countries, involving 900 developers.
To note, in 2023-2024, Google, in partnership with StrategEast, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Kazakhstan, and the Ministry of Digital Development of Uzbekistan, with support from the USAID Enterprise and Business Environment Development project, implemented a successful project called the IT Hub. Within this initiative, over 1500 students from leading universities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were trained in advanced courses by Google on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud technologies.