The article raises the question of the responsibility of economics for the theoretical and ideological support of economic policy. During the period of economic reforms in the 90s of the last century, political economy was removed from the educational space and its normative function. Responsibility for economic policy has shifted to neoclassical economic theory and, above all, to its current in the form of neo-institutional economic theory. After thirty years of radical economic reforms in Russia, its disastrous results have become apparent. They resulted in prolonged stagnation, technological lag, and structural deformations. Russia has irretrievably lost historical time in technological and economic development. The main attention is paid to neoinstitutional economic theory as the most normatively active stream of neoclassicism influencing economic policy. Its inconsistency in its claims to dominance in the normative field is proved by its "subject curse" beyond the limits of economic theory. It is proved that all definitions of institutions, except for norms and rules, include technology, money, and economic laws. The institutional paradigm finds a solid substantive basis in objective economic laws, which serves as the basis for the complementary unification of the two main trends of economic theory. Accordingly, the functions of economics will be strengthened. Combining the efforts and scientific apparatus of the two movements opens up the possibility for systematic research, which in recent years has been dreamed of by the founder of neo-institutional theory, R. Coase. 

The article is devoted to the analysis of intellectual provocations regarding one of the leading drivers of global trends – artificial intelligence. Based on the correspondence of the development of the technological revolution to the provisions of N. Kondratiev's system theory and cycle theory, on the basis of historical, evolutionary and reproductive (political economic) approaches, the conceptual foundations of artificial intelligence in the economy are shown, the stages of the technological revolution, the current opportunities and threats of mass dissemination of artificial intelligence, as well as trends in its development are analyzed. The arguments of supporters and skeptics of artificial intelligence, the "encroachment" on the theory of comparative advantages, options for solving the problem of inequality and income redistribution in the context of basic unconditional income and the intellectual provocations that have developed in this area are considered. 

At the present stage, the processes of economic cooperation of the EAEU countries are taking place in the context of digital transformation and economic sanctions against Russia. The key trends in digital transformation of the economy include: the development of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data analysis, the spread of cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technologies, augmented reality and a shared economy. The combination of these technologies forms the technological basis and foundation for the development of the digital economy. A number of international indices are used to assess the level of digitalization. The use of these indices in the EAEU has a number of features. This, among other things, will be discussed in this article. 

The dilemma of prioritizing the national interests of the BRICS member countries over a unified management system may become a deterrent to strengthening this commonwealth of states. Culture can be one of the conditions for overcoming this dilemma. Revealing the meaning of the concept of «culture» allows us to approach the question of the possibility of forming a more stable, equitable economic system that could become the basis for achieving the goals of the BRICS 

This article discusses the development and implementation of the smart city model as an innovative approach to urban infrastructure management aimed at improving the quality of life of the population and sustainable urban development. Special attention is paid to the use of modern technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence, which allow effective resource management, improve the environmental situation and increase the level of social protection. 

The article discusses modern retail formats and the possibilities of their use by small and medium-sized businesses. Modern statistics characterizing the spread of vending machines and micromarkets in the retail sector are presented. The conclusion was made about the trends in digital methods in the organization of retail trade and the prospects for consumer demand in the trade in everyday goods. The trend of omnichannel in retail is highlighted as the use of new sales channels in addition to existing ones.