Kazakhstan is the clear leader in Central Asia when it comes to leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance programmer productivity. For the first time, the country's tech sector has not only outpaced its regional counterparts but has also exceeded the global average for AI-driven productivity improvements. This achievement, driven by strategic government investment and industry flexibility, marks a significant opportunity for the nation's tech industry.
However, our recent large-scale research at Stanford University reveals a nuance: the language used to interact with AI tools is proving to be a decisive factor, one that could either accelerate Kazakhstan’s trajectory or become a significant bottleneck, The Caspian Post reports citing The Astana Times.
Kazakhstan outperforms global AI productivity growth
Over the past two years, our Stanford research group has tracked the impact of AI on software development globally, analyzing data from nearly 100,000 developers across over 500 companies in 60 countries. This includes 683 developers from 36 companies operating within Kazakhstan, covering both local and international firms.
The 2024 findings for Kazakhstan are striking: developers using AI boosted productivity by an average of 16.8%. This figure not only surpasses neighbours like the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan, but also exceeds gains seen in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Crucially, it exceeds the 16.4% global average.
This represents a dramatic turnaround from 2023, when Kazakhstan lagged 1.2% behind the global benchmark. While a gap still exists compared to Western nations where gains can exceed 19%, the momentum is clear: Kazakhstan is rapidly closing the distance, demonstrating one of the fastest rates of improvement in our global sample.
AI’s anglocentric bias: why native language hinders Kazakh coders
What differentiates the most successful users? Our data points overwhelmingly to one factor: the language of interaction with AI:
● Developers using AI exclusively in English saw 17.1% productivity gains.
● Those using primarily Russian or Kazakh achieved only 13.8%.
Why the gap? Two reasons:
1. Training Data: Most AI models are trained overwhelmingly on English data. Russian datasets are roughly 100 times smaller; Kazakh datasets are even more scarce.
2. Linguistic Structure: The complex grammar of Turkic and Slavic languages challenges current AI models, which are better optimized for English.
Querying AI in English yields far more accurate and useful results. Using AI in Russian or Kazakh is like using technology 1-2 generations older - its capabilities are limited. English proficiency is no longer just useful; it’s critical.
Kazakh firms can compete
A preliminary analysis indicated that international companies operating in Kazakhstan saw AI productivity boosts approximately 2-3 percentage points greater than local firms (representing a 15-20% relative increase).
But a crucial insight emerged: local Kazakh programmers using AI exclusively in English performed almost on par with their peers at multinational giants.
This proves that the right AI interaction strategy (English-centric) matters more than access to multinational resources. Local firms can compete effectively by addressing the language barrier.
State investment pays off: building the foundation for ai leadership
Kazakhstan’s leadership position wasn’t accidental. It builds upon years of focused government policy and substantial investment in digital transformation, said Asset Abdualiyev, Founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub in Silicon Valley.
“For Kazakhstan, the development of AI is one of the top national priorities and is closely monitored by President Tokayev. This year, the country plans to launch a series of NVIDIA GPU-based data centers and the international AI center Alem AI. All this is expected to lead to a $5 billion export of AI-based products and services by 2029,” said Abdualiyev.
This policy made possible the following programs:
● ~$1 billion Digital Kazakhstan program (2018-2022)
● World Bank funding ($92 million DARE project)
● The forward-looking AI Development Concept (2024-2029) and upcoming AI legislation
● Initiatives like the National AI Platform (with UAE’s Presight.ai) and the KazLLM language model
● Focus on human capital, aiming for 100,000 IT specialists by 2025 via Astana Hub and Tech Orda.
● Thriving Astana Hub ecosystem (1600+ residents).
These moves fostered rapid AI adoption, reflected in strong rankings (e.g., 24th in UN 2024 E-Government Index).
Why English is non-negotiable for AI progress
While current leadership is valuable, consolidating this position requires a laser focus. The single most critical factor highlighted by our data is language. Prioritizing English in technical fields is not a cultural choice, but a data-backed strategic necessity.
AI evolves at lightning speed, and cutting-edge knowledge - the latest breakthroughs, research papers, tools, and discussions - emerges overwhelmingly first in English. A language lag today guarantees a technological lag tomorrow.
To grasp the sheer velocity, compare the computational power growth for training major AI models against the historic benchmark of Moore’s Law (for classical computing):
Growth Rate Comparison: AI Compute vs. Moore’s Law
As the table demonstrates, AI progress is exponential and outpaces traditional technological growth by orders of magnitude. The gap widens monthly between those at the forefront (with access via English) and those falling behind. English proficiency becomes critical for enabling Kazakhstan’s specialists and companies to actively participate in the global AI revolution, leveraging the most advanced tools and methodologies immediately, without the delays and fidelity loss inherent in translation.
Conclusion: speak the language of progress
Kazakhstan has achieved impressive results in the global AI revolution. Sustaining this lead demands tackling the language barrier directly. While nurturing local language AI is important long-term, the immediate strategic imperative is clear: embrace English as the primary language of technology to ensure Kazakhstan remains at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness.
