Kazakhstan’s archives are planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence. Solutions aimed at introducing AI technologies into the sector were presented at the International Congress of Archivists in Astana. Among them is the AI Geotopography system, designed to automate archival storage facilities. It currently has no analogues in Central Asia. Another domestic development is the AI Archival Recognition System. It is capable of recognizing handwritten and printed texts, increasing document processing speed by as much as 40 times. All of these digital innovations will be introduced in stages.
«The Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is implementing a digital strategy adopted this year and designed through 2030. We began the digitalization process ten years ago. To date, more than 31 million archival pages have been converted into digital format. All documents of greatest interest to researchers and in highest demand, the so-called first-category documents, are already fully available to users in digital format. Thanks to digital and AI technologies, the archives of our country are becoming technological centers of the future,» noted Kairat Alimgazinov, Deputy Director of the Archive of President of Kazakhstan.
The Congress was organized at the initiative of the Archive of the President of Kazakhstan. More than 500 IT experts and researchers from 30 countries are taking part in the event, along with representatives of the United Nations, UNESCO, and the International Council on Archives. Participants have shown strong interest in Kazakhstan’s experience in the digitalization of archival work and the introduction of AI technologies. During the forum, two memorandums of cooperation were signed, with the National Archives of the United Kingdom and the International Council on Archives. The partnership will strengthen international ties and provide access to international standards, educational programs in the archival field, and world-class professional projects.
«And this memorandum will allow us to foster collaborations between ICA and Kazakhstan, but also with other countries from Central Asia. And this for ICA is a very important step forward, because Kazakhstan and other countries from Central Asia will join ICA,» said Josée Kirps, President of the International Council on Archives.
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