Konstantin Vishnevskiy, Director of the Centre for Strategic Analysis and Big Data HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK), made a presentation "The AI Hunger Games: How to "Feed" AI?" He identified four critical resources for AI development: energy, computing power, data, and personnel. In his opinion, the world may face a shortage of these resources in the future.

"By 2030, data centers will consume 8% of all world electricity, the main energy sources are fossil fuels and coal. In addition, the demand for graphics processors large language models training is constantly growing. Today, demand significantly exceeds supply. The third scarce resource is data. To train neural networks, it must be of high quality and well structured, otherwise we will get unreliable results. High-quality data makes up less than 1% of the total available volume. Chat GPT-4 required 45 TB of text data - this is equivalent to 45 billion books. Finally, the fourth need is competent personnel. The market is experiencing a shortage of AI experts, they top the list of the most in-demand professions, and their salaries are 25-40% higher than other IT specialists."

Leading expert of HSE ISSEK Foresight Center Danil Yatskin presented results of a large-scale study dedicated to the Russian IT market future. Authors analyzed 900+ sources, conducted 42 expert interviews and presented four possible scenarios for the industry development, from digital independence to natural evolution.

"Russia has significant potential in IT sector, especially in areas that require deep expertise: cybersecurity, quantum computing, computer vision. Future success will depend on chosen strategy - isolation or integration into the global ecosystem."

Indian expert Kumar Sudhanshu from Jawaharlal Nehru University analyzed the state and prospects of the Russian microelectronics industry. The speaker noted that Russia lags behind world leaders, producing chips using 65-180 nm process technology, while leading countries work using 3-5 nm process technology. Despite this, the semiconductor market in Russia could double by 2033 and grow to 17.9 billion. This requires a national strategy, financial incentives in the form of taxes and subsidies, investment in infrastructure and international cooperation – primarily with China, India and other countries of the Global South. Improving Russia’s own semiconductor ecosystem is critical for its economic security and technological sovereignty, the expert emphasized.

Tamara Zinina, Deputy Director of HSE ISSEK Center for Strategies and Programs presented a study on the digital transformation of megacities in the BRICS countries. As an analysis of 16 major cities showed, despite differences all cities are moving towards uniform standards in their digitalization.

"Already now, most megacities are implementing AI, big data and IoT. Particular attention is paid to sustainable development, environmental friendliness and human-centricity. We conducted 50+ expert interviews and prepared a map of digital solutions for smart cities, including driverless transport, digital twins of energy systems, and interactive learning. These initiatives can become the basis for international cooperation in building the cities of the future."

In conclusion, the session participants emphasized that sustainable and competitive IT ecosystem requires coordinated efforts by the state, business and academic community aimed at overcoming resource constraints and active international cooperation.