The Ministry of Digital Development is discussing the idea of making proficiency in artificial intelligence tools a basic competency for civil servants. The head of the department, Maksut Shadayev, at the SPIEF-2026 IT breakfast, compared AI to office programs: previously, proficiency in an office suite became a mandatory skill, and now a similar logic may apply to neural networks.
It's hard to imagine people who can't work with an office suite now. It should be the same here.
According to Shadayev, despite active discussions about AI, draft laws, and support measures, many officials still hardly use such tools in their daily work. The minister is concerned that the technologies are already available but have not yet become a habitual part of routine processes.
I see among my fellow officials that a very small proportion of them use and apply AI every day.
Separately, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development raised the topic of schools. According to him, children are already widely using AI assistants, while teachers often lag behind. Therefore, the department wants to integrate work with AI tools into the teacher training system together with Yandex.
I am concerned by the fact that in our schools, 80% of students already use AI assistants, children use them very widely, massively. Teachers are still lagging behind.
Shadayev emphasized that it is important for teachers to master such tools at least at the level of their students. At the same time, this does not involve changing the procedure for teacher certification: the Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Education are considering a skill improvement program, not new exams for teachers.
Teachers should master these tools at least at the same level as children.
In essence, the Ministry of Digital Development proposes to make AI not a rare skill for specialists, but a common working tool — like a text editor, spreadsheets, or presentations. For officials, this could become part of qualification requirements, and for teachers, a way to keep up with students who are already actively using neural networks in their studies.
Read more on the topic:
- AI may be allowed in Russian courts: expert named the main condition
- Schoolchild asked AI - and stopped thinking: RAS academician assessed the risk of neural networks
- Not Just Copying from a Neural Network: Rosobrnadzor Proposed Changing Homework Assignments