In Voronezh discussed what tasks robots will solve at regional plants

At the XVI Voronezh Industrial Forum, held on November 5-6, the central topic of the plenary session was the interaction of man and artificial intelligence in industry. Representatives of government, business and science participated in the discussion.

Greetings of Governor Alexander Gusev read the Deputy Prime Minister of the regional government Artem Verkhovtsev. The appeal noted that the industry is undergoing a stage of serious technological restructuring, and the Voronezh region is included in this process. According to the head of the region, the reasonable use of neural networks in the industry helps to reduce the burden on people, save resources, increase productivity and quality of products. The Governor also stressed that the results of the forum should find practical application.

In his speech, Artem Verkhovtsev said that the level of robotization should be assessed not by positions in the ratings, but by the real results of specific enterprises. He recalled that earlier the participants of the discussions had already presented working projects and openly talked about the difficulties of implementation.

Separately, the task set by the President was outlined: by 2030, Russia should be among the 25 world leaders in the density of industrial robotization. The deputy prime minister called the goal ambitious, but noted that enterprises are already coming to automation on their own, primarily because of the need to increase labor productivity. He described digitalization, robotics and cybersecurity as tools to achieve this goal.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence Alexander Sidyakin suggested considering robotics and AI in the context of global technological competition. According to him, the Russian IT sector is growing despite external restrictions: the turnover of the industry reaches 5-6 trillion rubles, and about 30 thousand domestic technological solutions have been created in the country. The MP pointed to the need to return their own competencies in microelectronics and computing, while cautioning against excessive regulation of AI, which could slow down companies and push developers to enter foreign markets.

The meeting participants agreed that automation has become a prerequisite for productivity growth, but robots and neural networks will not replace specialists, but will complement them. The industry still needs engineers, adjusters, and technologists capable of driving smart machines. Therefore, the topic of personnel became one of the five key sections of the forum, along with robotics and AI, cooperation and partnerships, new markets and state support measures.