Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Atomic Energy Usage—Existing Possibilities and Perspectives

The article presents an overview of the existing domestic and foreign practices of using artificial intelligence technologies for designing, safety assessment, and operation of nuclear facilities. The concept of artificial intelligence is interpreted in a general way, covering a whole range of information technologies and software and computational methods. Today, there is a growing interest around the world in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in almost all technological areas. Nuclear energy, as an extremely science-intensive industry, has its own characteristics compared to the areas of mass application of AI (medicine, economics and finance, marketing, design, logistics, traffic analysis, etc.). The correct setting of tasks for the use of AI in the nuclear industry requires a clear definition of the possibilities and limitations of the use of AI. In this study, the authors analyze various aspects of the use of AI for designing, safety assessment, and operation of nuclear reactors. The main attention is paid to the opportunities for the development of the industry and improving the efficiency of technological processes. Examples of the development and testing of methods based on AI in the field of activity of OKB Gidropress JSC are given. Conclusions are drawn about the promising areas of using AI as a modern information technology, and as a development direction for the long term.