ASTANA – As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into business and government processes, human expertise remains critical to ensuring effective decision-making, experts said at an Aug. 26 panel discussion at Nazarbayev University. From left: Bektemir Ysmailov, Malika Toleubekova, Demeu Seitzhanov and Subramanian Venkat.
Photo credit: The Astana Times/ Aiman Nakispekova The discussion focused on the challenges of digital transformation and the skills and competencies that are becoming increasingly important as AI reshapes the workplace. Bektemir Ysmailov, an assistant professor at Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Business, said AI is increasingly taking over coding and other routine tasks, making human expertise even more important in evaluating and verifying AI-generated results.
During panel discussion on Aug.26, Ysmailov highlighted AI can perform many tasks, but it still requires human verification. Photo credit: The Astana Times/ Aiman Nakispekova “Although AI has blurred the line between people with programming experience and those without it, expertise will become a key skill.
AI can perform many tasks, but it still requires human verification,” Ysmailov said. Drawing on his experience, Ysmailov noted that AI tools have significantly reduced the time he spends on manual work, including coding and data analysis. Tasks such as data cleaning, which previously required considerable time, can now be automated.
According to Subramanian Venkat, vice dean for research at Nazarbayev University, AI tools are becoming widely available, but their ability to generate value varies significantly among companies. He stressed that AI should be viewed as a capability rather than a resource.
“Everyone has access to AI now. You have it, I have it, every organization has it. So it is not a resource that belongs to a particular company. It is a common resource. What matters most is how capable we are of using AI,” Venkat said. Venkat cited data showing that 19.8% of U.S.
firms report using AI, while the benefits of adoption remain unevenly distributed. “At the firm level, only about 20% of companies appear to capture roughly 75% of the efficiency gains, while the remaining 80% either see little benefit or are not using AI effectively,” he said, adding that the overall productivity increase remains limited.
According to Venkat, AI adoption is concentrated in sectors such as information technology, finance, insurance and retail. Medium-sized and large companies are also more likely to use AI, while adoption among very small firms, particularly those with four or fewer employees, remains below 20%.