Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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Novosibirsk, October 20, 2025: The NSU Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI Center) has developed a draft state standard, "Humanities-Based Assessment of the Implementation of AI Systems in Smart City Development Practices." An application has already been submitted to Technical Committee No. 164 "Artificial Intelligence." If approved, it will be part of a comprehensive assessment of AI-based solutions. This state standard will be the first regulatory document in international practice to take into account the humanities component of AI projects.
"Currently, artificial intelligence projects are presented as engineering or technical systems with various functionalities, and developers focus on the effectiveness of the solutions, programs, and models they create. However, the anthropology of the project is largely ignored in these developments. This is especially true when it comes to what will happen to a person, their abilities, health, moral principles, values, and meanings if this project is widely implemented into the structures of our everyday life, such as education, science, management, and healthcare. Therefore, the need has arisen for so-called humanitarian expertise, which involves assessing the humanitarian risks and opportunities that arise from the widespread implementation of these developments," said Sergei Smirnov, PhD, a leading researcher at the NSU AI Center, one of its authors, about the idea behind the standard.
The smart city theme for the new state standard was chosen based on the NSU AI Center's specialization, "Construction and Urban Environment." Existing state standards, including those in the field of artificial intelligence, were used as a model. Currently, there are over a hundred such standards, either approved or still under discussion.
"We also drew on a long-standing theoretical tradition and the experience of implementing ethical review in biotechnology, medicine, healthcare, and genetics, where this issue became particularly pressing when the issue of human cloning and genome editing arose. We took these developments and applied them to the field of artificial intelligence," added Sergey Smirnov.
As part of the humanitarian assessment, a questionnaire was developed to assess the humanitarian potential (opportunities) and humanitarian risks of implementing an AI system. The questionnaire includes several questions covering various aspects related to the impact of the AI project being developed on the urban environment: does the project help solve a social or humanitarian problem? does the manager's approach change? does the comfort of the living environment, safety, and health of citizens change, and if so, in what ways? is the user expected to be actively involved as an active subject during implementation, or are they passive consumers? does trust in the system increase, or does mistrust arise? does the project's implementation generate conflicts? The questionnaire takes into account various perspectives—residents, the target professional group (service users), city government representatives, investors, experts, and the developers themselves. Each item is assessed on a ten-point scale. All responses are summed up, and an aggregated indicator is derived separately for humanitarian risks and humanitarian potential.
When calculating the aggregated indicator within the humanitarian assessment, two other important criteria are also taken into account. This is the Smart Cities Index, implemented by the Russian Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communities, which considers the competitiveness of Russian cities, the development of an effective urban management system, and the creation of safe and comfortable living conditions for residents. The second is the Urban Environment Quality Index, approved by the Russian Government, which assesses the living conditions of citizens in cities based on various spaces (housing, street and road networks, green spaces, public and business infrastructure, etc.) across a number of criteria (safety, diversity, comfort, etc.).
The resulting indices of humanitarian risk and humanitarian potential, smart city, and urban environmental quality are summed to produce an aggregated indicator—the humanitarian index—that measures the consequences of implementing a specific artificial intelligence project and its impact on people. A formula for calculating the humanitarian index was developed to calculate this index.
A pilot test of the developed state standard took place in August 2025 at the Technoprom international forum for technological development, where a project-based simulator on humanitarian assessment was conducted. Two projects from the NSU AI Center were used for evaluation: "Environmental Monitoring in a Smart City" and "Energy and Distribution Networks of a Smart City. Digital Heating Network." Following the event, the initial questionnaire was adjusted, and it became clear that the draft state standard is a viable tool that developers could use when designing their own solutions to improve and strengthen these projects, as it takes into account the humanitarian aspect.
"The institution (practice) of humanitarian expertise should be incorporated into municipal government regulations. Humanitarian expertise should become as mandatory as, for example, environmental assessments in chemical production, and should become the norm when deciding on the implementation of any AI-based service," emphasized Sergey Smirnov.
The current goal is to test the newly created state standard as widely as possible, conduct dozens of different simulations with real projects, and test both the projects themselves and the assessment tool. A draft law on AI is currently being developed at the federal level. According to Sergei Smirnov, the state standard for humanities assessment could very well become part of it.
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