Artificial intelligence - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 40

DUMK

Kazakhstan to Launch AI-Powered Imam App

Kazakhstan’s Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUMK) is set to integrate artificial intelligence into religious practice with the launch of Imam AI, a mobile application designed to provide believers with instant, Sharia-compliant answers to religious questions. The initiative aims to ease the burden on clergy and offer verified religious guidance in a digital format. According to DUMK, the adoption of AI reflects growing public demand for fast and reliable religious information. “In line with modern requirements, we need to systematically introduce the capabilities of artificial intelligence into the religious sphere,” the organization stated in a post on the muftyatkz Instagram page. The Imam AI app will be built on AI technology and will draw from authenticated sources of Islamic knowledge. Supreme Mufti Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly stated that the platform would comply fully with Sharia law while providing accessible, on-demand religious consultations. This development is part of a broader effort to digitally transform religious institutions in Kazakhstan. The country has already begun incorporating AI into public administration, notably with the introduction of SKAI, a neural network based on a national language model used in state and quasi-state management. As a further step, DUMK plans to draft a Digital Development Concept for 2026-2028, which will set priorities for the digitalization of religious activities. The Supreme Mufti stressed that failing to adapt to technological change means falling behind the needs of contemporary society. “We are living in an era of technology and digital opportunity. Our responsibility is the systematic and widespread use of digital solutions and artificial intelligence in religious practice, in full accordance with Sharia law,” Taganuly noted. Another key initiative involves the creation of an Islamic finance sector under DUMK. The Mufti stated that growing religious awareness and a desire for ethical earnings have fueled demand for financial products that align with Islamic principles. The new sector will offer Sharia reviews of financial instruments and issue fatwas related to leasing, insurance, investments, bonds, digital assets, and electronic payment systems. Together, the launch of Imam AI and the institutionalization of Islamic finance mark a broader convergence of religion, technology, and economics in Kazakhstan. A recent joint report by the Eurasian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank Institute, and the London Stock Exchange forecasts steady growth in Islamic finance across Central Asia. For Kazakhstan, the digitalization of the religious sphere is becoming a key component of its broader modernization agenda, positioning AI not as a novelty but as a practical tool for improving access and meeting evolving societal expectations.

Legal Technology

Dushanbe Teen Develops Tajikistan’s First AI Legal Assistant

Tajikistan has launched its first AI-powered legal assistant, designed to simplify access to legal information by explaining laws in plain language. The project, called Moni, was developed by 15-year-old Foteh Azizov, a tenth-grade student at School No. 6 in Dushanbe. Already, the platform is being used not only by the general public but also by practicing lawyers. Azizov said the idea for Moni came from his own experience. While helping with content and promotion at his uncle’s law firm, he noticed how difficult it was for ordinary people and even himself, to understand the complex language used in legal documents. “Laws are often written in a complicated style, full of terminology,” Azizov explained. “That’s when I came up with the idea of creating a tool that explains the law in simple and accessible language for everyone.” He pitched the idea to his uncle, who supported the initiative and helped organize the project. “My motivation only grew, I wanted to build something that could really help people,” Azizov said. He taught himself the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, working through trial and error to create a functional prototype. A professional programmer later joined the team, assisting with website development and refining the platform’s features. Since its launch, Moni has proven useful not just to citizens but also to legal professionals, who use it as a convenient reference tool. The service is a free AI assistant specializing in Tajik law. It helps users locate relevant articles across a wide range of legal areas, including tax, land, labor, civil, and administrative law. Moni supports queries in multiple languages, including Tajik, Russian, English, and Kazakh. All inquiries are anonymous, and the platform does not collect any personal data. Its responses are based solely on publicly available legal documents. The most frequently asked questions revolve around taxes, business regulations, employment law, civil rights, and administrative violations. Looking ahead, Azizov says the team has many ideas for improving the platform, but their immediate goal is to continue developing the current product. “Our aim is to remain a free, user-friendly resource and become an indispensable legal advisor for everyone,” he said.

Made in Kazakhstan: Building an AI for a Nation

On a cold November morning at Al-Farabi University in Almaty, students gathered in a drafty lecture hall, many still wrapped in their coats. The setting was more reminiscent of a forgotten Soviet-era classroom than a venue for cutting-edge technology. But amid the peeling paint and rickety seats, some of the country’s most ambitious young researchers had come to discuss Kazakhstan’s latest steps into the world of artificial intelligence. The star billing came from the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University in Astana. Last year, the institute released KazLLM, its first Large Language Model (LLM), to much fanfare, inspired by a philosophy of building AI systems that understand the country’s language and culture rather than borrowing second-hand from Silicon Valley. But can Kazakhstan keep pace in the global AI race? And despite the government’s efforts to back local products, can it convince the population to use them over Western alternatives? Recent developments The Institute’s founder, Doctor Huseyin Atakan Varol, was keen to stress that steps have been taken to develop Kazakhstan’s native AI ecosystem over the past twelve months. “Since the release of KazLLM last year, we have witnessed what I would describe as a ‘Cambrian explosion’ of generative AI development,” he told The Times of Central Asia. “The KazLLM project enabled us to create the team and amass the know-how to build a new generation of multilingual and multimodal models tailored to Kazakhstan’s needs.” Among these, he lists Oylan, a multimodal language–audio-vision model; MangiSoz, a multilingual speech and text translation engine; TilSync, a real-time subtitle and translation engine; and Beynele, a text-to-image generation model. All these models have been fine-tuned to better reflect Kazakh culture and linguistic norms. “In short, we are building AI made in Kazakhstan, by Kazakhstani youth, for Kazakhstan –models that understand the language, culture, and needs of the people,” said Amina Baikenova, ISSAI’s Acting Deputy Director of Product and External Affairs, in an interview with TCA. [caption id="attachment_39061" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The old lecture hall at Al-Farabi University, Almaty; image: TCA, Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] Much of this progress stems from the enthusiasm of a generation of students, whom Kazakhstan has invested heavily in training. Indeed, the country has become a magnet for young researchers from across Central Asia. “After completing my bachelor’s degree in Kyrgyzstan, I was looking for opportunities to build my research career. That’s why I moved to Kazakhstan,” said Adam Erik, an ISSAI student from Bishkek. “Kazakhstan has become a scientific center of Central Asia.” Erik believes strongly in building local language models. “There is a thing called bias in data sets,” he said. “Models from the U.S., China, or Europe are incredible, but they’re trained mostly on Western culture and literature. Local solutions are still necessary.” These sentiments reflect a common frustration among researchers: even the best global AI systems stumble when asked about Kazakh idioms, rural social norms, or local history. The data used to train the world’s most powerful models rarely includes more than a sliver...

Digital Technologies

Kazakhstan Advances Digital Transformation with U.S. Partnerships

Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, is rapidly positioning itself as a regional leader in digital transformation. Increasingly, United States partners no longer view Kazakhstan solely as a source of natural resources. Instead, future cooperation is expected to expand into digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). Advances in Digitalization In October, Kazakhstan reaffirmed its digital ambitions with a major technological breakthrough. Kaspi, the country’s leading fintech firm and a systemically important bank, launched Kaspi Alaqan, a palm-based payment system that requires no phone, card, or internet connection. The service will debut in December 2025 through dedicated ATMs in Almaty before expanding nationwide. Analysts say the innovation puts Kaspi on par with Amazon One and China’s WeChat, highlighting Kazakhstan’s readiness to adopt cutting-edge global technologies. Traditionally associated with oil, gas, and uranium, Kazakhstan is now investing heavily in becoming Central Asia’s digital hub, an evolution that presents strategic opportunities for the U.S. Partnerships in digital governance, AI, and innovation ecosystems align closely with Washington vision for expanded cooperation in Eurasia. According to the United Nations, Kazakhstan ranked 24th globally in digital development as of June 2025, placing in the top 10 for online public services. Services such as school enrollment, vehicle registration, and passport issuance have been fully digitized, requiring minimal citizen effort. In some cases, the process is faster than in many Western countries. Kazakhstan’s government aims to double its GDP to $450 billion by 2029, a target that will require more than a 2.5-fold increase in investment. Digital technologies are central to this strategy. To manage this transformation, a new Investment Board was established in October 2025 to oversee large-scale projects and determine economic priorities. In September, the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) passed a landmark law on artificial intelligence. Deputies highlighted fairness, transparency, and the protection of personal data as key legal principles. The newly launched National Artificial Intelligence Platform hosts over 100 AI agents that support e-government functions and expand access to technology. Additionally, in July, Kazakhstan introduced a supercomputer powered by NVIDIA H200 GPUs. With performance reaching 2 exaflops (FP8), it is the most powerful computing system in Central Asia. Startups, universities, and research centers now have access to this infrastructure. The language models KazLLM and Alem LLM have also been introduced, capable of generating content in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Turkish. For the U.S., Kazakhstan’s AI ecosystem offers a valuable partner for collaborative research, ethical framework development, and State Department–supported initiatives using AI for sustainable development. Investing in the Future U.S.–Kazakhstan cooperation in digital innovation is already accelerating. In September, Amazon announced a $200 million investment in Kazakhstan’s internet infrastructure. A distribution agreement with Kazakhtelecom will bring Amazon’s Kuiper satellite network to the republic, improving connectivity and driving economic growth. Additionally, 24 startups from Central Eurasia have joined U.S. accelerator programs such as AlchemistX and Silicon Valley Residency. These initiatives, launched in September in Palo Alto, connect regional teams with U.S. venture capital and technology ecosystems. Kazakhstan is also advancing blockchain infrastructure. Astana recently launched the...

AI Laboratory

Pavel Durov’s Telegram Launches AI Laboratory at Alem.ai in Astana

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has announced the launch of a dedicated artificial intelligence laboratory in Astana, housed within the newly inaugurated International Artificial Intelligence Center, Alem.ai. The Alem.ai center was officially opened on Thursday during the Digital Bridge 2025 forum in Kazakhstan’s capital. At the opening ceremony, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described the center as a future global hub for the effective and ethical application of artificial intelligence. The initiative will bring together both domestic and international developers, with Telegram among the first companies to establish operations at the site. “A year ago, we opened our first regional office in Kazakhstan, and today we are pleased to launch a specialized AI laboratory inside Alem.ai,” Durov said. “This is a joint project between Telegram and Kazakhstan’s national supercomputer cluster, established by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence. The technology will allow more than one billion people to use AI functions privately, transparently, and efficiently. We hope that Kazakhstan’s supercomputer cluster will become the first major provider of computing power for this network.” As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan launched the region’s most powerful supercomputer earlier this year. At the Digital Bridge 2025 forum, President Tokayev announced plans for a second cluster. On the sidelines of the event, he also met with Pavel Durov to discuss cooperation in education, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to the presidential press service. “The President highly appreciated Telegram’s contribution to advancing Kazakhstan’s digital agenda: the company officially joined Astana Hub, opened an office in Kazakhstan, and launched AI laboratories at Alem.ai,” the statement said. “For his part, Pavel Durov briefed Tokayev on prospects for joint projects in artificial intelligence.” Tokayev also discussed venture investment opportunities and the development potential of Kazakhstani AI startups with Stanford University professor Ilya Strebulaev. In addition, Tokayev held meetings with Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health and former COO of G42. The talks focused on expanding Kazakh-Emirati cooperation in AI, including the ongoing Smart City project, which Tokayev called a milestone in bilateral relations. Tokayev also announced plans to establish an Artificial Intelligence University in Kazakhstan, with a strong focus on research and development. According to the presidential press service, he noted the importance of drawing on the UAE’s experience, where the world’s first IT-focused university is already in operation.

Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan Plans Artificial Intelligence University for 2025 Launch

Kazakhstan will develop proposals by the end of 2025 to establish a dedicated research university focused on artificial intelligence (AI), President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced during the inaugural meeting of the Artificial Intelligence Development Council in Astana. Tokayev said AI is becoming a decisive force in shaping the economy, governance, science, and education, factors that directly affect national competitiveness and sovereignty. He added that Kazakhstan needs a specialized scientific institution to systematically address all aspects of AI application. “This institution should be granted special status, and it is important to attract leading global universities as partners. I instruct the government to prepare concrete proposals by the end of this year,” Tokayev stated. The president noted that the university’s primary mission will be to train highly qualified specialists capable of applying AI technologies across all sectors of the economy. The institution is expected to serve as a hub for science, education, innovation, and international cooperation, giving talented young people the opportunity to receive world-class education within Kazakhstan rather than abroad. Tokayev also urged existing universities to intensify efforts to train a new generation of engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs skilled in advanced technologies. He highlighted the AI-Sana program, launched earlier this year, through which more than 440,000 students have already received AI certification. According to Tokayev, such platforms can help transform student projects into startups with access to international markets. Currently, more than 63,000 students are enrolled in IT-related disciplines at 79 universities across Kazakhstan. AI has been introduced as a separate subject, and last year local researchers developed KazLLM, a large language model for the Kazakh language. However, Tokayev said a central coordinating body is still needed, citing institutions such as the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in the UAE as examples. The president also pointed to AI’s transformative potential in education, particularly through personalized learning systems that can move beyond the “one-size-fits-all” model. These systems offer tailored programs based on individual students’ strengths and weaknesses and are already being used in countries such as the United States and South Korea. Tokayev said such approaches could help narrow the gap between urban and rural schools, including small rural institutions, and better support students with special educational needs. At the same time, he cautioned against overreliance on AI. “Relying too heavily on neural networks, students may lose skills in critical thinking and independent analysis. AI should enhance the learning process, not replace its fundamentals,” Tokayev said, calling for government safeguards to preserve academic integrity. He also outlined plans to develop digital student profiles that record academic performance, achievements, and aptitudes. These profiles would support personalized education pathways, optimize university curricula, and streamline career planning. Tokayev instructed the government to design a national digital profile system integrated with the future AI university. Tokayev has previously called for the creation of an international regulatory body to oversee the ethical dimensions of AI and establish universal legislation governing its use. Kazakhstan recently launched a Ministry for Artificial Intelligence Development, and several government ministries are...