The relationship between citizen and state in the digital environment discussed at the Symposium

Participants of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future," held from November 4 to 6 at the National Centre RUSSIA, discussed the development of digital services, public perception of global digitalization process, and the prospects for state-society interaction in this area. The experts examined the key objectives of the state in the digital sphere and the societal impact of further innovation implementation. Nikita Setov, political scientist and Deputy Director for Government Relations of the Polylog Consulting Group, who moderated the discussion, emphasized that in the context of modern digitalization, the line between "digital" and "non-digital" has almost disappeared.

"I hope today’s session will help shift the dystopian perception of the relationship between humans and the state in the digital environment, which is primarily prevalent in Western works on this topic," he noted at the beginning of the panel discussion "Citizen and State in the Digital Future."

Andrei Ulyanov, Director of the Department of Service Development and Customer Experience of the Ministry of Digital Development and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, spoke about the current state and future of government digital services, as well as the core approaches to their development.

He also highlighted that, in addition to convenience and accessibility, other priority tasks in creating digital government services include security, a focus on citizens' needs, and compatibility and integration with other state systems.

The topic of security and trust in digital technologies was further developed by Evgeny Styrin, Head of the International Laboratory for Digital Transformation in Public Administration at HSE University.

"Achieving digital trust requires the collective effort of legislative and executive authorities, business, and citizens, who must be ready to evolve and adapt to make adequate use of the digital opportunities provided by the state," he emphasized.

Only large companies with strategic goals, especially state corporations, have sufficient resources to bridge the gap between fear of new technologies and real guarantees of digital and technological security for users, noted Andrei Vetoshkin of "Operator Gazprom ID" LLC.

"The priority of small business and startups is profit. The priority of a corporation is strategy. When we say dreams come true, we invest so that people can dream at all," said Andrei Vetoshkin.

Gleb Dyakonov, Director of Applied Solutions at Rostec State Corporation's NtechLab, raised the need for a qualitative transformation in the relationship between the state and society.

"The transformation should not be about making the state work even more efficiently, but about changing everything fundamentally. We, as people, need to be happy. This shift will occur when the very architecture of the state is designed to make us happy," he added.

Other participants included Yulia Ablets, Deputy Director General of ANO "Dialogue Regions" and founder of the New Media Workshop, as well as science fiction writers Vitaly Chizhkov and Vadim Panov, who described the primary function of science fiction as creating a model of the future. According to the writers, such literature gives society a unique chance to peek into the future without any risks to itself.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held from November 4 to 6. Participants include scientists, researchers, futurists, science fiction writers, and representatives from government bodies from 101 countries, including Russia, India, Italy, Iran, China, the UAE, Serbia, the USA, and France. The program features over 60 sessions across four tracks: "Future of Human," "Future of Technology," "Future of Multipolar World," and "Future of Civilizations." The program and event broadcasts are available at the website future.russia.ru.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is the first event of the National Centre RUSSIA, which was established on July 1, 2024, by the order of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The Centre aims to preserve the legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and showcase the achievements of the country and its citizens. The work of the Centre involves federal authorities, state companies, corporations, and regions.