Estonian expert: No country has yet emerged as an absolute leader in AI

No country has yet emerged as an absolute leader in artificial intelligence (AI), creating significant opportunities for Azerbaijan, Estonia and other countries to take the lead in this field, Hannes Astok, Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Estonia's e-Governance Academy, said at the 8th Summit of IT Leaders of Government Agencies in Baku.

"Countries that achieve the greatest success in the AI era will focus not merely on teaching citizens the basics of technology, but on creating the conditions for its productive and responsible use. No country has yet emerged as an absolute leader in this field, creating significant opportunities for Azerbaijan, Estonia and other countries," Astok said.

According to him, genuine AI proficiency across society is not developed through one-day workshops but through everyday practice. To achieve this, citizens and professionals need continuous access to tools, opportunities to experiment, feedback and time to integrate digital solutions into their workflows.

He stressed that the key challenge in digital transformation lies not in the technologies themselves, but in organizational change, including adapting governance models, regulatory frameworks, procurement mechanisms and cybersecurity standards. In this regard, he noted that the absence of a recognized global leader gives the public sectors of Azerbaijan and Estonia an opportunity to establish advanced standards for AI adoption and set the course for the international community as a whole.