By 2030, the use of artificial intelligence in the Arctic is expected to shift from isolated pilot projects to scalable industrial applications, according to Alexei Fadeyev, a professor at the Higher School of Industrial Management at Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) and chair of the expert council on Russian Arctic Zone Development under the St. Petersburg Committee for External Relations.

In an interview with a RIA Novosti correspondent, Fadeyev noted that harsh environmental conditions, labor shortages, and high logistics costs will make AI a key driver of regional development. He also predicted that many icebreakers and cargo vessels would be equipped with autonomous decision-making systems.

“Fully autonomous vessels will make up roughly 10–15 percent of the fleet, while AI-assisted systems will be installed on about 90 percent of all new ships,” he said. According to his forecasts, neural-network-based seismic data analysis will become tens of times faster, with AI handling up to 80 percent of all primary geophysical data.

“Arctic exploration is no longer a technologically simple task,” the expert added. “It requires science and industry to create an entirely new range of advanced technical solutions, with a level of complexity comparable to that of space exploration and nanotechnology.”

He also noted that many energy companies have actively embraced digitalization, developing digital twins, using 3D printing, and implementing cognitive exploration methods in which geological decisions are driven by advanced digital data analysis. In addition, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotic drilling rigs, and underwater systems are being deployed at oil fields to support and optimize production.