Putin is founding an AI alliance against the West – that’s what’s behind it

Russia will support countries in the global south with artificial intelligence. The question is where the resources will come from.

Thomas Wanhoff / t-online

At the international conference “AI Journey” in Moscow on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in global development.

He underlines Russia's willingness to share its know-how and technologies with other countries, especially with partners in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the countries of the Global South.

The AI ​​should not only understand Russian

Countries such as members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the BRICS countries and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are creating promising economic sectors and introducing innovations. Russia is actively supporting their efforts, both by providing AI-based products and by providing technical and advisory assistance.

The Kremlin ruler said that algorithms for generative models should be developed not only in Russian, but also in other languages.

During the conference, the President also announced the establishment of an international alliance of national AI associations and development institutions from the BRICS countries and other interested countries.

Where is the problem?

Sanctions prevent the import of microchips

But Putin won't have it that easy. Western sanctions aimed at restricting Russia's access to technology to hamper its war against Ukraine have led to the world's top microchip producers halting exports to Russia. This has significantly limited the country's ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Sberbank, Russia's largest lender and host of the AI ​​conference, plays a central role in the country's AI development. But how Sberbank CEO German Gref As was already acknowledged last year, graphics processing units (GPUs) – the microprocessors that form the basis for AI development – ​​are the most difficult to obtain.

The largest chip manufacturers are Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm – which would hardly supply Putin with their products. He would have to purchase from the gray market from third countries – with a surcharge.

AI development alliance founded

On Wednesday, the Russian bank announced that national AI associations from BRICS members such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa, as well as countries such as Serbia and Indonesia, have joined the “AI Alliance Network”. This network is intended to facilitate joint research in the field of technology and AI regulation and create opportunities to distribute AI products in the markets of member countries.

The USA and China are currently the world's leading AI powers. US President-elect Donald Trump has named an “AI and Crypto Envoy” in the White House to ensure the United States remains the richest and most technologically advanced nation in the world.

How far is Russia?

Russia is among ten countries – including the USA, China, Great Britain and Israel – that are developing their own generative AI models.

According to the Moscow consulting firm Yakov and Partners, which is run by former McKinsey employees, Russia has the potential to play a much more significant role in the AI ​​field. However, it will be questionable whether it can also provide the necessary hardware.

Russia expects the use of AI technologies across all sectors to increase gross domestic product by 11.2 billion rubles (106.4 billion euros) by 2030. 80 percent of all Russian workers should have AI skills by 2030, reports the Reuters news agency, citing information from the Kremlin.

Sources

(t-online/dsc)

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