Dmitry Grigorenko participated in an open dialogue at the National Centre RUSSIA

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At the National Centre RUSSIA, the open dialogues "100 Questions about the Future of Russia" continue. On December 17, Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chief of the Government Staff, who oversees achieving the national goal of digital transformation, answered questions from citizens. He spoke about the government's efforts to combat cybercrime, the prospects of artificial intelligence, the future of digital platforms, and other topics of concern to the public.

Dmitry Grigorenko emphasized that for modern people, digitalization has become routine, and for the younger generation, it is an ordinary environment. Additionally, digitalization serves as an indicator of the changes taking place in society. As a major example, the speaker highlighted the development of the Gosuslugi portal, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year.

"Digitalization has become a part of our lives. It’s, in a way, like electricity, hot water — something we can’t do without, yet something we no longer notice. We’ve practically stopped 'noticing' even the Gosuslugi portal. Today, it offers more than 1,500 digitized services and over 110 million users," stressed Dmitry Grigorenko.

If 15 years ago, the portal only provided instructions on how to use certain services, now the service has not only become convenient, intuitive, and user-friendly but also helps solve various life situations. The services that first appeared on Gosuslugi last year allow citizens to address emerging tasks comprehensively in one place. On average, one "life situation" includes 17 separate public services. 

"As of recently, we launched the 'Start a Business Online' life situation, which allows you not only to start a business but also to select tax regimes, permits, licenses, cash registers, and more," Dmitry Grigorenko noted.

The CEO of Megafon, Khachatur Pombukhchan, spoke about the scale of phone fraud and the measures taken by the state and telecom operators to protect subscribers. These include call labeling, improving AI-based tools, and implementing systems to block fraudulent activities.

"Currently, we block about 23 million fraudulent calls per month, around 120 million fraudulent SMS, and approximately 20,000 phishing resources. In order to provide an adequate response to fraudsters' evolving technologies and engineering approaches, the state has introduced several major initiatives, key among them — mandatory call labeling for legal entities, a ban on government officials contacting subscribers through any messengers, and the unification of all industry representatives on a single platform to collaborate on protecting their subscribers," Khachatur Pombukhchan noted.

Commenting on the topic, Dmitry Grigorenko warned that as technology advances, fraudulent schemes targeting citizens will become increasingly sophisticated. Therefore, ensuring user security from the competitive advantage of telecom operators must evolve into a unified national communication standard. Of course, subscribers themselves must also exercise vigilance.

"Regardless of the measures taken by companies and the state, we must cultivate what is often called digital hygiene among citizens themselves. First and foremost, this applies to everything related to the transfer of data over the phone. The advice here is very simple: stop, hang up, think, and if possible, call back the official number before making a decision about providing personal information to a 'bank employee,' transferring money 'for the treatment of loved ones,' and so on," recommended Dmitry Grigorenko. 

The CEO of Ostrovok.ru, Darina Kochetkova, spoke about the forecasts for the development of the platform economy using the tourism sector as an example. The participants of the meeting also discussed the issue of regulating the quality of goods sold and attempted to answer the question of whether online platforms will replace traditional "physical" commerce in the future. Summarizing the discussion, Dmitry Grigorenko joked about regretting that virtual stores would eliminate spontaneous shopping.

"The only thing I regret: if we all eventually move into an online mode, where will the impulse purchases go? Statistics show that in the intervals between purchasing, paying, and delivering goods, many people reconsider and return their purchases," the main guest of the open dialogue lamented.

Blogger and mother of five, Darina Stabetskaya, on behalf of all large families, expressed gratitude to the state for the development of modern digital services. She also drew attention to the need for authorities to support the development of Gosuslugi in the regions and the introduction of new services that meet the demands of the times. The Director of AI Technology Development at Yandex, Alexander Kraynov, dispelled the most fearful misconceptions of fellow citizens about artificial intelligence.

"Artificial intelligence doesn’t kill jobs but fundamentally changes their very essence. So, we shouldn’t view it as something frightening. It’s just a tool — like a hammer, which in different situations can be either good or bad," Dmitry Grigorenko commented. 

Wrapping up the dialogue, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that digitalization will only become a true ally of humanity if people clearly understand why they are developing these technologies.

"Digitalization and technology are made by people. And as soon as we answer the question of why we’re doing this, the question of replacing humans with technology will go away. And then we’ll achieve everything we’ve planned in our national goals," concluded Dmitry Grigorenko.

The series of open dialogues "100 Questions about the Future of Russia" at the National Centre RUSSIA is dedicated to the national development goals of the country for the period up to 2030 and prospects until 2036. Participants in the meetings include representatives of federal executive authorities of the Russian Federation, regional speakers, members of the business community, public organizations and associations, and experts in various fields.

Questions about the future of the country can be submitted through a special section on the National Centre RUSSIA website. Answers to some of them will be broadcast live.

The National Centre RUSSIA was established by order of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to preserve the legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and to showcase the achievements of the country and its citizens on a permanent basis. Federal government agencies, state companies, corporations, and regions take part in the Centre’s work.

The National Centre RUSSIA is located at 14 Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, Moscow. The Centre is open from 10:00 to 20:00 every day except Monday.