Nauseda in New York: Lithuania must be ready for technological, social transformation

Nauseda delivered a speech on "the Principles of Building a Welfare State based on Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics" at the Concordia Annual Summit taking place alongside the 74th UN General Assembly, his office said in a press release.

The forum brings together decision-makers and opinion-formers from across in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

"We live in the age of great technological and economic transformation. Yet the pace of social transformation is lagging behind. This divergence is creating tensions and could eventually cause negative effects on economic growth itself," the president said in his speech.

Nauseda underlined the importance of ensuring that "all people stay competitive in the knowledge society".

"Life-long learning is a must for those who work today and for those who will start working tomorrow," the president said.

"Mind-boggling progress seems to be at hand's reach, but we cannot ignore the risks that accompany it. We need to make the best of all the advantages offered by digitalization and robotization and – at the same time – to prepare society for new challenges," he said.

"Metaphorically speaking, our challenge is to build people's welfare on the backs of the robots."