Kazakhstan Enacts AI Law, Parliament Weighs Opportunities and Risks - The Astana Times

ASTANA – Kazakhstan adopted a law on artificial intelligence, followed by a Mazhilis (lower house of the Kazakh parliament) hearing to examine its opportunities and challenges.

On Sept. 24, deputies of the Mazhilis passed the second reading of laws on artificial intelligence with amendments on issues related to culture, education, family, and state control.

Working group leader Yekaterina Smyshlyayeva said the legislation establishes a legal foundation for the development of artificial intelligence in Kazakhstan, with a focus on ensuring public safety, personal data protection, and fostering innovation.

Smyshlyayeva explained that users have the right to receive information about how the system works, to request a review and explanation of its decisions, and to refuse to interact with AI. The use of digital technologies aimed at controlling people’s behavior, exploiting emotions, conducting social assessments, or collecting personal data without consent is prohibited. Mandatory audits of AI systems will be introduced to monitor compliance with these requirements.

In addition, all systems will be classified according to their risk levels and degrees of autonomy. High-risk systems will be treated as critical information and communication infrastructure facilities and, therefore, will be subject to special control. Their operation will be regulated by law.

A number of changes also concern copyright. According to Smyshlyayeva, works created exclusively by AI without human creative input will not be protected by law. However, creative requests from users—the so-called prompts—may be considered intellectual property and will be protected by copyright.

Parliamentary hearings

On Sept. 26, the Mazhilis held parliamentary hearings on the development and regulation of artificial intelligence in Kazakhstan.

Speaking at Parliamentary hearings,  Zhaslan Madiyev, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, said that the ministry’s AI strategy focuses on three areas: establishing an institutional environment, creating infrastructure, and developing human capital.

Kazakhstan is rapidly expanding satellite internet to support its AI ambitions. OneWeb service went live in January, Starlink became available nationwide in August, and Chinese partner Shanghai Spacecom tested subscriber terminals in the Almaty region. This week, the government also reached an agreement with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to begin service next year, announced Madiyev.

As part of the Digital Bridge forum on Oct. 2, Kazakhstan will inaugurate the International Center for Artificial Intelligence – alem.ai. Alem.ai will become a platform for bringing together talents, researchers, entrepreneurs, and government officials aimed at creating and implementing domestic AI solutions in various sectors of the economy.

Madiyev also cited experts who said that the crypto industry will be “the currency of AI.”

“Crypto-friendly legislation is developing in our country. In the near future, with the support of the Ministry, areas such as the possibility of paying for goods and services in cryptocurrency, the launch of state mining, the issuance of stablecoins in tenge, the formation of a crypto reserve, and other areas will receive development,” said Madiyev.

AI training

Minister Madiyev also outlined plans to equip a broad segment of the population with essential artificial intelligence skills.

“Our goal is to train 1 million people in artificial intelligence skills within five years. Educational initiatives include schoolchildren, students, civil servants, businesses, and all interested parties,” he said.

Supporting this effort, Sayasat Nurbek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said the government systematically provides backing for scientific research aimed at developing AI through targeted and grant programs.

“Today, 27 universities and six research institutes in 11 regions are actively working in the field of AI. A total of 479 scientists are involved in the research. The highest concentration of projects is observed in Almaty and Astana,” said Nurbek.

Twenty-six projects are being carried out by young scientists under the age of 40. They cover seven priority areas of science, with AI research mainly focused on advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and the space industry.

“Our main task today is to adapt higher education to the requirements of the era of artificial intelligence. Concrete results have been achieved in this direction. Currently, 30 higher education institutions are implementing 38 educational programs on artificial intelligence. Beginning from 2025, artificial intelligence skills are integrated into all educational programs,” Nurbek said.

According to him, 62 AI projects with a total value of 9.7 billion tenge (US$17 million) are being implemented in the country.

AI risks

Yerlan Koshanov, Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, said that the ethics and security of using artificial intelligence require special attention.

“So far, no one has been able to determine the boundaries of the threat. Various tactics are being proposed to counter the misuse of artificial intelligence technologies. For example, China has required national social networks to introduce a system for labeling content created by artificial intelligence since September of this year. We have also made a similar requirement in our Law on Artificial Intelligence,” said Koshanov.

Another challenge is the rising concern that artificial intelligence may replace real knowledge. Surveys indicate that Kazakh citizens recognize both the opportunities and the risks of integrating AI into education.

“According to opinion polls, opinions vary. 40.5% view the impact of artificial intelligence positively. 37% perceive it rather negatively. They believe that it makes learning too easy and the assimilation of material superficial,” said Koshanov.

Mazhilis Chairman’s speech also touched upon the opportunities to use AI in water resources management.

“It is necessary to use new technologies to analyze data on the state of rivers and lakes, namely, water level, its quality, and pollution. This will help predict floods and droughts and prevent disasters. In addition, artificial intelligence is very useful not only for preventing natural disasters, but also for preventing man-made accidents,” he said.

Get The Astana Times stories sent directly to you! Sign up via the website or subscribe to our X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube and Tiktok!