Minsk has become a capital of artificial intelligence: the 5th anniversary "IT-Academgrad" International Forum, titled "Artificial Intelligence in Belarus," has kicked off at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. More than 300 experts from Belarus, the Russian Federation, China, and Uzbekistan have gathered for the event. A major draw for visitors was the exhibition set up in the foyer of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The venue showcased over 100 domestic developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. Here, scientific ideas take the form of tangible technologies; visitors were able to test firsthand intelligent systems for medical diagnostics, robotic complexes for industrial automation, and unmanned solutions for agriculture and environmental monitoring. The plenary session was opened by Vladimir Stepanovich Karanik, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, who read out an official address and spoke personally to the guests. "Artificial intelligence is not merely a breakthrough scientific field; it is a technology that is rapidly transforming our world. It is utilized in the service sector, medicine, and decision-support systems—moving beyond the experimental stage into full industrial operation. It is also employed in manufacturing through robotic complexes and machine vision systems. Furthermore, it is used in the IT sector, significantly reshaping its landscape by delegating the most routine tasks to artificial intelligence. AI is applied more widely than most of us realize; this is an objective reality. When calling a support service, we sometimes fail to grasp that, at the initial stage, we are interacting with a language model rather than a human being," noted the head of the Academy. The plenary session took place in the conference hall. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Sergei Mikhailovich Sivets, Chairman of the Constitutional Court; Kirill Borisovich Zalessky, Minister of Communications and Informatization; Andrei Evgenyevich Kuznetsov, Minister of Industry; Alexander Gennadyevich Bakhanovich, First Deputy Minister of Education; and Natalia Nikolaevna Ayusheeva, Vice-Rector for Digital Development at the East Siberia State University of Technology and Management. During the ceremony, the winners of the "Belarus Artificial Intelligence Leaders 2026" competition were announced. CATEGORY: "BELARUS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LEADER COMPANY" 1st Place: Special Development Center LLC. The company earned high acclaim for the practical implementation of artificial intelligence in enterprise operations, the development of complex IT systems, and the creation of proprietary software products. One example is the maintenance of an active AI assistant for a major retail chain; this assistant utilizes a language model and the organization's knowledge base to provide users with up-to-date information. In the summer of 2026 alone, the company carried out 114 updates to the solution in the production environment and 28 updates to the knowledge base, ensuring response quality control and system stability. 2nd Place: BELFIN LLC. The company creates and implements robotic systems for industry and education. Its developments automate welding and assembly operations, helping to boost productivity, precision, and the quality of technological processes. 3rd Place: InDev Solutions OJSC – a developer of intelligent solutions for industry. In collaboration with BELAZ OJSC (the management company of the BELAZ-HOLDING group), the company developed an AI-based automated control system for autonomous mining vehicles. The system integrates computer vision, neural-network-based obstacle recognition, and intelligent route planning technologies. It enables mining dump trucks to operate autonomously, adapt to changing conditions, and interact with other participants in the production process. CATEGORY: "BELARUSIAN AI PRODUCT LEADER" 1st Place: InnoTech Solutions LLC, with the "SCANNER" next-generation acoustic detection system. This is a domestic intelligent system for detecting and determining the bearing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); it employs AI technologies to analyze acoustic data, filter out background noise, and recognize the distinctive sound signatures of drones. A key feature of the system is its ability to detect and track fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones, which are difficult to identify using traditional radio monitoring methods. 2nd Place: M.AI.N Community—a professional network uniting over 4,500 members, including business representatives, developers, researchers, and AI experts. The project helps enterprises adopt AI technologies, acquire necessary expertise, and assemble teams for collaborative work. A vital component of the project is practical training, featuring open meetings, masterclasses, workshops, and the sharing of AI implementation experiences. The community is also developing digital tools designed to simplify...