site.btaBulgaria Should Aim to Be Provider of AI-based Services, Not Just User - Deputy Prime Minister Donchev

Bulgaria should have the ambition to become a provider of high value-added services using Artificial Intelligence (AI), rather than merely be a user of such technologies, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev said at the international conference Artificial Intelligence and IT Audit in Safeguarding Public Resources, held here on Monday. 

Donchev noted that Bulgaria is among the countries that possess their own sovereign Bulgarian language model, and the nation should exploit all opportunities for its comprehensive and systematic application—not only in public administration but also by offering high value-added services to businesses. The Deputy Prime Minister praised the National Audit Office for integrating AI into its auditing activities, unlike other state institutions that, in his words, approach this technology with fear.

In the current situation, as artificial intelligence emerges as a transformative technology reshaping human societies and relationships, Donchev outlined two possible approaches: one is to resist progress, and the other is to accelerate implementation.

He criticized the European Union’s approach of regulating AI first, whereas the United States and China have prioritized its development. Donchev expressed his conviction that AI will be the main driver of economic growth over the next decade.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Bulgaria needs not only to retain its human capital but also to develop the necessary infrastructure. In this regard, he highlighted the importance of INSAIT (the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology) and the BRAIN++ AI factory currently being built within Sofia Tech Park. 

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov officially opened the international conference “Artificial Intelligence and IT Audit in the Protection of Public Resources.” Among the participants were Minister of e-Government Valentin Mundrov and the Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency Kiril Valchev.

The conference was organized on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the establishment of the National Audit Office.