Digital divide and regional development in Russia in the context of artificial intelligence diffusion

The new stage of economy digitalization is associated with the widespread introduction of artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, there are spatial disparities in access to information and communication technologies (ICT), in the ability to use them and make a profit (three levels of digital divide). From this point of view, the impact of complex AI algorithms, which are likely to form a new (fourth) level of digital divide, was not studied deeply enough. In general, a low level of digitalization can limit regional development: in the Russian regions where the share of active Internet users is 1% lower, the ratio of GRP to the labour force is 0.07% lower. In Russia, after 2022, the spatial diffusion of ICT could slow down in the context of external restrictions on equipment imports, personnel outflow, which should have increased interregional digital inequality. In fact, the latter was decreasing due to the expansion of online trade and government support for the ICT sector, and the permission of parallel imports. The economies of the most regions were approaching the digital frontier as they borrowed technologies, products, and management models, including the rapid spread of digital platforms. The intensity of AI implementation by organizations increased significantly in 2022, when the state offered a number of support tools, but then slowed down in most regions due to a lack of technical resources and competencies, and the high cost of business transformation (technological pause). Spatially differentiated policies will be required to save resources and concentrate efforts. Incentives are needed for research and startup development of digital technologies, including AI, in the most advanced centres (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk Oblast, Tatarstan); support for factories automation and retraining of employees in industrial regions; and, increased digital literacy, physical and affordable accessibility of ICT in lagging regions, expanding entrepreneurs' access to digital platforms.