Nima Namdari, the CEO of Karnameh at the final event of Adventure Isfahan: the wave of artificial intelligence is currently more of a commotion than a transformation.

In the final event of Isfahan Adventure, Nima Namdari answered the question, “How ready is Iran’s innovation ecosystem for the artificial intelligence wave?” He tried to present a realistic picture of the global and domestic situation. He explained that what is seen today as the new wave of artificial intelligence is not the technology itself, but its widespread entry into the daily lives of ordinary people; While years ago, artificial intelligence was present in the hidden layers of systems and B2B in company products.

Referring to the difference between “predictable” and “complex” conditions in decision-making, Nima Namdari explained that the current focus of artificial intelligence is on the small part of problems that do not have a fixed pattern and are unpredictable. Emphasizing that we have not yet reached the level of “pervasive artificial intelligence”, he identified three important trends as the cause of hope for reaching this level by around 2030: the habit and acceptance of users towards generative tools, the economic justification of huge investments in infrastructure, and the upcoming developments in human-machine interfaces through wearable technologies and new smart tools.

In another part of his speech, he discussed the impact of artificial intelligence in enterprises and said that AI in the current state is empowering actors rather than overturning business models. According to Nima Namdari, on the staff side, artificial intelligence-based tools have increased the speed and quality of work such as content production, data analysis, and coding, and on the customer side, the possibility of personalizing communication and services has increased. These changes are mostly seen in the form of cost reduction and improvement of customer experience, and there are still no widespread examples of fundamental transformation of business models based on AI in the world.

Nima Namdari then addressed the situation in Iran and listed two serious challenges for meaningful investment in artificial intelligence. First, there is the issue of economic scale and absorption capacity; Where sanctions, low economic growth and a shrinking “economic pie” make heavy investments in AI infrastructure insufficient returns. Second, there is a lack of problem-oriented prioritization at the policy level; While countries like the UAE or Brazil are focused on a few specific areas, Iran is facing a multitude of big, simultaneous problems, making it difficult to decide exactly which AI is going to solve.

To explain the challenge of competing in the global market, he mentioned his personal experience of using a Slovenian startup to convert thousands of hours of audio files into text; A startup that relies on the global market, can cover dozens of languages ​​at the same time and offer a competitive price. According to Namdari, the Iranian startup, whose market is practically limited inside the country, is neither able to invest heavily in research and development, nor can it compete with such actors in terms of price and quality; For this reason, creating an artificial wave around “artificial intelligence startups” without considering these facts will not be a sound economic decision.

In summing up her speech, Nima Namdari emphasized that the realistic step for Iran’s innovation ecosystem is not to create rhetorical waves, but to make maximum use of existing artificial intelligence tools in current businesses. He suggested that companies should focus on two areas: defining specific and measurable problems where AI can create value and enhancing the skills of employees to use these tools effectively on a daily basis. According to him, if the policymaker can choose a few national priority issues and align the capacity of existing talents with the real needs of industries, then instead of a fleeting wave, artificial intelligence can become a tool to create less risky local startups and achieve sustainable profitability.