Minister of Digitalization: “Now I want all the printers in the ministry to disappear”

Minister Delegate for Digitalization Bogdan Dumitru said Thursday evening that he wants all printers in the ministry to disappear, after noting the large volume of printed documents he has to read. The official said artificial intelligence could play an immediate role in reducing bureaucracy and making public administration more efficient.

“In one week, I think I saw almost a quarter of a cubic meter of paper that I had to read as well. You can perhaps imagine the immediate role of AI in this process,” Dumitru said at an event presenting the study “How Do Companies in Romania Use Artificial Intelligence?”, conducted by the Edge Institute and the Concordia Employers’ Confederation.

The minister announced that the vouchers earmarked for private companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, would help them test and integrate artificial intelligence solutions. The support would initially target the validation of certain processes, while full implementation would be supported if the results meet expectations.

Dumitru said the impact of AI would be “fantastic or colossal,” although its exact form is not yet clear. In his view, the state must act as a facilitator to boost the competitiveness of Romanian companies.

The study was conducted on a sample of 1,003 companies with at least ten employees and analyzed the level of digitalization, barriers to AI adoption, and differences between categories of companies.