Digital login: online AI courses launched for Russian officials
Courses on artificial intelligence have been launched for Russian civil servants — 450 people will take them in federal authorities alone in 2025, Izvestia found out. Classes are held both in person and online, with homework. The use of AI will help officials reduce the amount of manual work and allow them to make more effective decisions, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia. Civil servants are taught how to use AI-based chatbots, correctly formulate text queries to a neural network and use the results of its analysis. See our article about the regions in which AI is already being actively introduced into public administration, how it is used when processing citizens' appeals to government agencies and when implementing national projects.
How does the AI course for civil servants work?
Russian officials have begun to actively train in the intricacies of working with artificial intelligence. To do this, the government instructed to organize AI courses for civil servants, including in an online format, according to a letter from Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, which was reviewed by Izvestia.
"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that training can be organized in convenient formats, including online courses, and it should be available to civil servants of various levels without interrupting their main activities, with the opportunity to view materials at an appropriate time," the document says.
For the widespread introduction of AI in Russia, it is important to have not only developed competitive technologies, but also highly qualified personnel who know how to use them competently and effectively, Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia.
— The main objective of training is to increase the effectiveness of management processes. AI allows you to reduce the time and cost of information processing: previously, it required hours of manual work by employees. The technology has already been implemented in the monitoring and management system of national projects. It allows anticipating the risks of failure to complete a task on time in advance and with 96% accuracy," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
It is important that the neural network does not replace civil servants, but becomes their assistant, improving the quality of analytical work, he added.
In 2025, the Russian government organized centralized training for more than 450 federal civil servants on AI topics, the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation told Izvestia. Those who successfully complete the training receive a certificate of advanced training.
— The training is conducted in a full-time format using distance technologies (online webinars) and providing materials for self—study, - said the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation.
The course includes six programs. For example, government officials are introduced to applied AI tools, and they are taught how to use a chatbot and digital assistants to analyze big data. This program lasts 36 hours.
In other programs, officials are taught how to set tasks for AI development teams, taking into account the specifics of public administration, how to correctly compose a prompt (text query to a neural network) and make effective decisions based on the results of AI analysis.
Where AI is already being used in government
The Russian authorities approve of the introduction of artificial intelligence in the field of public administration. The use of AI allows not only to increase the speed of decision-making, but also leads to the optimization of resources, which is very important for government bodies and citizens, Vladimir Putin said in 2024.
— There is one more important thing that I would like to draw attention to, it is important for all countries. This is a fight against corruption and abuse by the authorities, because the use of artificial intelligence makes decisions transparent," the president is convinced.
The average level of use of AI technologies in the fields of economics and public administration in the Russian Federation has increased 1.5 times over the past two years, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said earlier.
Today, the Russian Federation has achieved great success in the field of digitalization, including with the use of AI in the field of digital public administration, Elena Zinovieva, professor of the Department of World Political Processes at MGIMO, noted in a conversation with Izvestia.
— Moscow was ranked first in the UN Smart Cities ranking in 2018. Successful examples include AI in the management of Moscow's urban infrastructure, for example, on roads or in the subway, where video cameras record violations, and AI analyzes traffic in order to optimize routes, the expert says.
AI capabilities are also being used in other regions. The most striking example is the Novosibirsk region, where such innovations have been implemented since 2017. In the field of public administration in the region, there is a single workplace for an employee with AI tools, Sergey Tsukar, Minister of Digital Development and Communications of the region, told Izvestia. At this point, the official can use several digital services, for example, an AI assistant to work with the appeals of Russians. A digital assistant helps a government employee prepare a response to citizens' requests.
— An AI assistant evaluates the response to an appeal according to 12 parameters: clarity of language, completeness of the response, literacy, tone, respect, and others. The specialist receives a comprehensive assessment and recommendations on how to improve the response. There are also personal assistants for individual departments, trained according to their specifics. For example, to prepare responses to appeals to the State Housing Inspectorate and the Housing and Communal Services Modernization Fund," the minister said.
There is also an AI assistant in the electronic document management system in the region, an AI agent for shorthand meetings, which transcribes the speakers' speech, highlights the main points and automatically creates a protocol and tasks in the system, and a number of other services. Earlier, civil servants of the government of the Novosibirsk region underwent a "Digital upgrade", where officials were told about the effective implementation of neural networks in public administration.
The region also has a "Safe City" system, which, thanks to "smart video cameras," helps catch criminals, detect fires, and even search for missing children.
— In 2025, the Novosibirsk Region was the first in Russia to introduce an AI search service for missing children. When contacting the 112 service with a missing child report, the operator offers to upload a photo of the missing person. After uploading, the wanted person's photo is promptly sent to the secure circuit of the Safe City hardware and software complex. Seven children have already been found," the minister said.
One of the most sought—after projects by Novosibirsk residents is the Voice Self-Service System (GHS), where the robot Nikolai works. It is used to automate the MFC contact center, the Unified Registry of the Novosibirsk Region, and the hotline of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the region. Since the beginning of 2025, more than 6 million calls have been received in call centers and hotlines in the region, and a quarter of them have been handled by a consultant robot without switching to an operator.
How the world uses AI in public administration
Despite all the above examples, Russia cannot be called a world leader in the field of AI. The United States and China remain at the top in terms of investment, innovation, and artificial intelligence, according to British analysts at Tortoise Media. Russia ranks only 31st in this ranking. Identical results were shown by a report published in the Chinese media, where Russia ranked 30th, immediately after Turkey, but ahead of Estonia.
The use of AI in public administration is not a new practice, it originates in the concept of "smart cities", but today, in the light of the growing possibilities of technology, the practice is expanding, said Elena Zinovieva.
"Singapore is a prime example, where AI solutions are used to solve various tasks, from predicting traffic jams, managing traffic and urban infrastructure to combating cybercrime," the expert said.
In China, regional authorities have begun to implement artificial intelligence from DeepSeek to help senior staff in decision-making. And in Hangzhou, the Hangzhou City Brain urban "superstructure" is used to help inspectors and relieve traffic jams, Konstantin Golovshchinsky, deputy director of the Institute of State and Municipal Management at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
— In 2025, Hangzhou launched City Brain 3.0. It is even more deeply integrated with industry systems and smart city management. The City Brain is the "brain" of the city, which collects a stream of data (cameras, traffic lights, sensors, GPS vehicles, citizens' appeals) and solves routine management tasks, the expert noted.
In Albania, they went even further and appointed a robot to the post of Minister of Public Procurement. The digital woman, who was given the name Diella, has been diligently pursuing a career, gaining experience since January of this year as a voice assistant on the national public services portal e-Albania.
The authorities expect that the "incorruptibility" of the technology will help in the fight against corruption. "This is not science fiction, but the duty of an AI official," said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The active development of AI in various spheres of life, including in public administration, makes people's lives more transparent, which, in turn, creates risks and vulnerabilities, says Elena Zinovieva. An example is the advanced facial recognition system, thanks to which millions of video cameras monitor every step of citizens in developed countries. Another downside of the development of AI can be considered the emergence of cyberbullying and cyber attacks, which also have to be dealt with. Thus, artificial intelligence, which changes our lives from day to day, can be used both for good and for harm: it all depends on in whose hands it is.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
