Government official: AI can be breakout point for Hungarian economy

AI is estimated to boost GDP globally by 1 trillion dollars, and businesses that invest in it are seeing significant jumps in revenue, Gergely Fabian told the MBH business conference in Budapest.

Fabian said AI improved operational efficiency, reduced risks and transformed production chains from trade to agriculture and industry. AI, he added, was also changing the labour market as it replaces hundreds of millions of jobs with higher value-added ones.

The state secretary said Europe had fallen behind in the global digital transition which is dominated by China competing with the US. He said Hungary could not be satisfied with simply catching up with the European Union average, adding that the digital infrastructure the country had built after 2010 was among the best on the continent.

Though there is more work to be done when it comes to the development of domestic businesses’ level of preparedness, the government aims to have AI applications built into the health-care system, energy production and agriculture by 2030, Fabian said. It also wants AI to boost GDP by at least 15 percent.

The state secretary said Hungary could become a regional leader in the use of AI and the top developer of autonomous vehicles by the end of the decade.