Iran's pro-government Tasnim News reported on Sunday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a conference focused on “big steps” in the field of artificial intelligence. Iran is already investing in cyber capabilities, and the use of AI is one technology that many countries are currently investing in.
The meeting provided an overview of issues such as the “digital economy” and the efforts Iran is taking on AI. The report said Raisi had a discussion “with a virtual group of business activists in a meeting on Saturday afternoon,” hearing from 15 different executives and discussing the current ecosystem of technology and innovation in Iran. he added.
Iran is seeking investments in the development of young people in these fields and investments in AI fields that can have an impact on regional security and defense. For now, Raisi is talking about economic growth and job creation. Iran is “strengthening financial and legal support as well as providing an appropriate environment for the presence and participation of the private sector in this field,” the report said.
The Iranian leader also discussed the need for regulation in this sector, stating that “creating a healthy, competitive and moderate environment that is easily accessible to the domestic market and foreigners is a digital “It's one of the essentials for economic prosperity.” According to the report, the Iranian president said: All of this would seem normal when discussing Western democracies. However, in Iran, this type of economic investment also has implications for the country's security. This could include the company's relationship with the regime, as well as its relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to Iran's Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, the country wants to train 100,000 people in the digital economy field. According to the report, few business leaders attended the conference, and most of them did not have a strong online presence. The report lists most of the names, including two female executives.
Partial list of meeting attendees
Attendees included Kazem Kayal, CEO of Yes Application. Mohammad Baqer Tabrizi, CEO of Quera Company. Mr. Mostafa Raipur, CEO of Digiton Company. Mr. Abbas Asghari Sari, CEO of Mohiman Company. Mohammad Saduy, CEO of Trabrand. Majid Hosseininejad, founder of Alibaba Holding. Ali Hakim Djawadi was recently elected chairman of the Nasr organization in Tehran. Mohammad Mahdi Shariatmadar, CEO of JBit Company, which is involved in advertising and other businesses, and Mustafa Amiri, CEO of Zarin Pal, who was recently elected by the Computer Workers' Union organization in Tehran province.
Two attendees stand out. One of them was Alireza Abedinejad, CEO of Dolan Software Technologies, which was sanctioned in December 2023 as a “powerful Iranian company that assists the government in censoring and filtering the internet.”
Another, Masoud Tabatabai, was reportedly detained in February for possessing an offensive coffee mug. Tabatabai is the head of Digikara Group, Iran's largest online retailer. According to IranWire, this is considered Iran's version of his Amazon. His legal issues were resolved before his meeting with the president.
This report shows that Iran, like many other countries, is taking this initiative seriously. AI has many uses, but they are not well understood. Its base must include machine learning and an interface between users and AI to improve decision-making and processes. It is often used as a catchword for systems that do not use AI and use various algorithms that do not learn over time.
Nevertheless, Iran's decision to invest more heavily in these technologies is significant. The use of AI is progressing in the defense industry. This can improve targeting and also work with electro-optical and other capabilities that are increasingly being employed to address the large number of sensors currently onboard military platforms such as drones and missiles.