AI in Science

I just got back from Kazan, where Digital Innopolis Days 2026 took place at Innopolis University on October 8–9. The trip home came with a few adventures: flight delays kept me at Kazan Airport for most of the night. Apparently two days at the forum weren't quite enough, so my trip got extended a little.

The forum focused on practical applications of artificial intelligence in education and science—actual tools researchers can use, not just big ideas. Scientists, government officials, university representatives, and technology companies came together to discuss what AI can already do and what still exists mostly in polished slide decks.

On October 8, I took part in the 'AI in Science' strategy session. Our team was brought together with working groups from related fields to identify shared solutions. The initiative had actually begun back in July, and we had been developing our proposals at breakneck speed for the past three months, but we weren't allowed to talk about it. Our working group included people with remarkable scientific and industry experience: six members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, three advisers to a minister, directors of federal ministry departments, and executives from major agricultural companies. I was entrusted with coordinating our joint work on initiatives for the agricultural sector. Together, we developed three proposals for using AI in research, focused on the goals of the national technological leadership project 'Technological Support for Food Security.'

On October 9, at a plenary session titled 'Artificial Intelligence for Breakthroughs in Education and Science,' moderated by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, 21 pilot projects in science and education were launched. Our Genometrica project—an intelligent workspace for animal-breeding researchers—was one of them. It was presented to Dmitry Chernyshenko; Valery Falkov, Russia's Minister of Science and Higher Education; the government of Tatarstan; and Rustam Minnikhanov, the Head (Rais) of the Republic of Tatarstan. Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov also attended the plenary session.

Genometrica (by the way, I came up with the name, too) is our attempt to make animal-breeding researchers' work a little easier and their results more accurate and reproducible. We want to bring genetic data, pedigrees, animal performance records, and analytical tools together in one environment. That way, researchers can spend less time collecting data and moving it from spreadsheet to spreadsheet and more time actually doing science. AI isn't meant to replace the researcher. It helps them test hypotheses, compare models, and make evidence-based decisions faster.

My feelings are mixed, to be honest. On the one hand, I keep reminding myself that the people doing this work aren't superhuman. On the other, standing at the furnace yourself feels pretty extraordinary. I'm not going to pretend to be excessively modest: being part of a project at this level is incredibly flattering. And I'm genuinely thrilled that we managed to organize it, bring everything together, and deliver a concrete result. Now we just have to make sure we don't break the pots.