In early 2026, several decisions and statements in Uzbekistan came together into a single agenda: the authorities are simultaneously setting digital development priorities for the year, updating the rules for using AI with regard to personal data and, in parallel, developing the infrastructure needed to scale AI solutions.

Priorities for 2026: connectivity, 5G and internet access

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on the results achieved and priority tasks for 2026 in the field of digital technologies. The official statement specifically highlights the telecom block: further rollout of 5G technologies, expanding high-speed internet coverage of settlements and wider use of satellite communications are planned.

Such a combination (5G + high-speed internet + satellite solutions) usually signals an attempt to narrow the digital divide between the capital and the regions — and to create conditions for digital services to work reliably not only in large cities but “across the country”.

New rules: liability for unlawful data processing using AI

At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan announced norms introducing liability for unlawful processing of personal data using artificial intelligence technologies, as well as for its unlawful dissemination through the media, telecom networks or the internet.

The statement also notes an important caveat: when making legally significant decisions affecting human rights and freedoms, one cannot rely solely on the conclusions of AI-based information systems.

Legal reviews interpret these changes as the first more “substantive” amendments that directly establish liability for using AI when working with data.

In practical terms, this means that the growth of AI services will go hand in hand with stricter requirements for the lawfulness of data processing: “what we collect”, “on what basis”, “who has access”, “how we protect it” — all of this becomes not secondary but fundamental.

Infrastructure: AI data center projects and an incentive regime in Karakalpakstan

The third part of the chain is infrastructure. IT Park Uzbekistan announced a project for a next-generation AI-oriented data center in Karakalpakstan. The publication says the data center is planned as a modern facility powered by renewable energy sources and using AI technologies; the project was announced as part of an investment agreement worth $130.9 million, mentioning Keycore Technology Corp. (Taiwan) and “Nvidia AI server”.

At the same time, Reuters reported that Uzbekistan announced the creation of a tax-preferential zone in Karakalpakstan for AI and data center projects to attract large foreign investment: investors with investments of $100 million or more were promised tax and customs benefits until 2040, as well as infrastructure support and preferential electricity terms.

Why this looks like a unified strategy

Put together, it forms a consistent logic:

• the political level sets digital priorities for 2026 (with an emphasis on connectivity and accessibility);
• the regulatory level tightens liability for unlawful scenarios of AI working with personal data;
• the infrastructure level promotes data center projects and conditions for investors so that capacity for AI workloads appears.

In other words, Uzbekistan is betting not only on “AI adoption” but also on ensuring that this agenda has rules and a computing base — without them, most AI projects remain pilots and presentations.