Armen Baldryan: Technological development cannot be stopped: Armenia should always be one step ahead

The global technological transformation is proceeding very quickly, and it is not clear how these technologies will affect each of us, the country or the global economy, so one of the main goals of organizing the Silicon Mountains 2023 international technology summit is to consult with each other to understand what awaits us tomorrow, what challenges and opportunities there are and to prepare for them in advance, President of Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies  Armen Baldryan told NEWS.am Tech within the framework of the summit.

"As we can see as from the panel discussions, there are many challenges, both dangers and opportunities, and the main question is how to place the Republic of Armenia in this chain so that we make the most of it," he said.

Armenia has many competitive advantages

According to Baldryan, Armenia is not only not lagging behind in terms of technological development, but also has its own competitive advantages. "There are directions in which Armenia is among the leaders, and the presence of many global organizations in Armenia proves this. But the problem is how not to waste our energy, but, on the contrary, to concentrate them and to go much further in the directions where we are competitive, being ahead of other countries."

As an example of a competitive sector, he mentioned the sector of chip development, in which all leading companies – Synopsis, Siemens, etc. – have branches in Armenia.

We will get answers to some of the questions that concern us, in case of some, we will not, but it is important to understand what is happening in the field of technology, Baldryan noted. "The reason for the discussion is the technologies, but they are not the basis, but the person, the society, and how we are able to use our limited human resources correctly, what right knowledge and orientation to give to the youth, so that it is maximally useful for the Republic."

Collective knowledge is very important

"Technology and development have advanced so much that one person cannot have all the knowledge and experience, collective knowledge is very important," says Baldryan.

According to him, the defining power of a smart state is also that it is able to concentrate all of our knowledge in one place and build a state that is the result of all of our ideas. "Otherwise, it will be difficult for one or a few people to master these technologies and use them correctly on a country scale."

Along with technological progress, it is important to uphold ethical rules

"It is not possible to introduce technologies only through legislative regulation, because the development is very fast, it will be difficult to keep up with the changes," he notes․ "It is very important to protect ethical rules, which on the one hand are not mandatory, but on the other hand are a very important element for today's society, because without self-control and self-management it is not possible to have rapid development."

Technological development is inevitable; it should be at the forefront

"Along with the development of technologies, new milestones are emerging. If Armenia, as a country, reaches some of these milestones and as a result makes our economy and the life of every one in society much better, why not do it?” says the president of Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies, adding that we should always take a step forward, not wait to see what others will do and then follow them.

On the other hand, according to Baldryan, it is clear that the developments are inevitable and even if we slow down the technological developments to a certain extent, they will still go forward, we will not stop the process. "The only option is to be at the forefront of introducing technologies so that we can use them for the benefit of our country."

Innovation is born in such events

Speaking about the successes of Silicon Mountains 2023 Summit, Baldryan notes that if 200 people participated in the first summit, the number of participants in this fifth event is more than 1000. "In other words, the topics and discussions are really interesting. In addition, the participants of the panel discussions are high-level specialists, which not only increases the international experience of Armenia, but also the visibility of the country, which opens up new ways of cooperation."

On an individual level, according to him, the event will be useful if "each of us starts thinking about what innovation to work on, which will be useful both to us and to the outside world, taking into account the information that we will also receive today, it will give very tangible results, because after all, as one of the panelists said, innovation is born in such events, when we sit down and listen to some ideas, from which a new idea is born, which we start to implement."