Estonia uses artificial intelligence extensively in education and wants to collaborate with India. In an interview with Times of India reporter Surojit Gupta, Estonian President Aral Karis talked about how they are building trust while rolling out citizen-centric e-services. extract:What can Estonia offer to the world and India when it comes to AI and technology? n We can offer our experience and how we digitize society to India and the rest of the world. One important thing we should share with the rest of the world is how we build trust when we digitize or use artificial intelligence. You should build trust not only between technologies, but also between governments and society at large. AI is still developing so fast. We don’t know what’s going to happen in, say, three months or even two weeks. But we are ready and trying to use this new technology smartly. This is what we can tell India. India is also a digital country, so we learn from each other. Can you tell us about the digitalization happening in Estonia?In Estonia, everything is online. This means you can even get married online. I mentioned taxes, I mentioned prescriptions, basically everything. Instead of lawyers, one startup is using artificial intelligence. This does not mean that we no longer need lawyers, but we can focus on more important things as Estonia needs to line up and go to court. How do you ensure data privacy?As artificial intelligence technology develops, privacy becomes increasingly important. Data may belong to citizens, but data privacy, especially in healthcare, is a concern. We saw in some countries in Europe how difficult it was to introduce ID cards because people were worried about data. What are the productivity improvements brought about by digitalization?Some people estimate that it increased GDP by 5%. This is the official calculation that has just been made. It makes your life very comfortable. In some countries, filling out tax forms is very difficult. For us, it comes pre-populated. If you don’t have anything to add, it may take a few minutes. It makes the whole thing transparent. For medical prescriptions, you don’t have to see a doctor. He knows what your disease is, they write you a prescription, you see it immediately, and then you go to the pharmacy. What areas of cooperation do you see with India?Like India, Estonia values education. We can collaborate on this. We started AI Leap. 30 years ago we provided computer access services to schools. Now, we are doing the same thing with artificial intelligence. We teach teachers and students how to use artificial intelligence smartly. We worked with OpenAI and Google and asked them to provide a platform tailored to the needs of Estonian students. AI Leap is in every school and we’re learning how to use it and how to really change the entire system of how we teach our students. What are your thoughts on AI regulation?Regulations need to be enacted. We try to ensure that there is at least some degree of global regulation. But every country is different. Technology has limitations and there are rules and regulations.
