VCIOM: areas where Russians expect breakthroughs in the technologies of the future
Most Russians are confident that Russia will become one of the most advanced countries in the field of future technologies. This was stated by the Director General of the VCIOM Analytical Centre, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Valery Fedorov, during the presentation of a new VCIOM study. He made this statement during "Dialogues about the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA.
"Will we become one of the most advanced countries in the field of future technologies? What do our contemporaries think? There is no single dominant answer. But the most frequent response — 32% — is yes, indeed. In 10–15 years, people believe, Russia will be quite capable of becoming one of such countries. Another 23% think that today we are already among the most advanced countries in terms of future technologies. That is, we already have everything," said Valery Fedorov.
About a quarter of Russians are confident that Russia can become an advanced, leading power in the field of future technologies, but not in the next 10 years — rather in a more distant perspective of 20–30 years. At the same time, according to Valery Fedorov, there are only 11% absolute pessimists who believe that this goal is unattainable.
The head of VCIOM emphasised that the main priority for Russians is technologies in medicine and healthcare. 88% believe this should be the priority. There is also demand among Russians for future technologies in industry: 54% of respondents mentioned this. Security came third, followed by transport, the banking sector, and smart home technologies. Education was at the bottom of the list, according to Fedorov.
"Changes in education are clearly connected with the advance of the future, the acceleration of innovation, and the increasing readiness of society for what is to come, but so far this understanding is clearly lacking. The benefits of future technologies for our people are now most often associated with improving the quality of life, not only the standard of living. In other words, we will not simply become richer but will live better in more respects. This is confirmed by the emphasis on medical and bioengineering technologies," Valery Fedorov stressed.
The Director of the VCIOM Analytical Centre also noted the importance of robotisation and automation of all processes. He pointed out that in the West there is techno-pessimism — the fear that robots will deprive people of jobs, wages and their future. In Russia, he said, this is not the case.
"In which areas do people expect to see advanced developments in the near future? Again, medicine dominates here. All other areas apparently inspire less confidence. Perhaps this is the aftertaste of the coronavirus pandemic, or perhaps other factors played a role," Fedorov summarised.
Valery Fedorov is moderating a series of discussions in preparation for the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future". The main theme of the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is to bring together the world’s leading minds to jointly design positive scenarios for the future. Information about upcoming discussions in preparation for the Symposium can be found on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA in the "Events" section.
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On 4 April, the All-Russian Media Forum YUNKOR brought together YUNARMIYA members from 30 regions of the country at the National Centre RUSSIA.
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