President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will develop artificial intelligence with BRICS partners and other countries to challenge the United States’ dominance of one of the most promising and important technologies of the 21st century. Speaking at Russia’s premier AI conference, Putin said the new AI Alliance Network will include national associations and development organizations in the field of AI from BRICS countries and other interested states.
“Russia should participate on equal terms in the global race to create strong artificial intelligence. This is precisely the advanced solutions that Russian scientists are currently working on,” Putin said at an AI conference in Moscow.
“We invite scientists from around the world to join the collaboration,” he added.
Western sanctions aimed at restricting Russia’s access to technologies needed to sustain its war against Ukraine have led the world’s major microchip makers to freeze exports to Russia, limiting its AI ambitions.
Russia’s major lender Sberbank is leading AI development in Russia, but Sberbank CEO German Gref admitted in 2023 that graphics processing units (GPUs), the microchips that drive AI development, were the most difficult hardware for Russia to replace.
On Wednesday, the bank said national AI associations from BRICS members Brazil, China, India and South Africa, but also from Serbia, Indonesia and other non-BRICS countries, had joined the AI Alliance network.
The network will facilitate joint research on technology and AI regulation and provide an opportunity to market AI products to member states.
Russia seeks to join major powers in race for AI supremacy
The United States and China are the world’s top AI powers, and US President-elect Donald Trump has named the “White House AI and Crypto Czar” to help ensure the United States remains the world’s wealthiest and most technologically advanced power.
But Putin’s cooperative move with China could change the dynamics of the AI race.
Russia is one of 10 countries, including the US, China, the UK and Israel, that are developing their own generative AI models. Yakov & Partners, a Moscow-based consultancy run by former McKinsey employees, says this gives it the potential to become an even more significant player.
Russia sees the use of AI technology across all sectors to add 11.2 trillion rubles ($109 billion) to GDP in 2030, compared to 0.2 trillion rubles ($1.9 billion) in 2023.
Its AI strategy also says that 80% of all Russian workers should have AI skills by 2030, compared to 5% in 2023, while AI investment should increase sevenfold to 850 billion rubles.
Sberbank, which has developed a productive AI model called GigaChat, and technology leader Yandex, with its YandexGPT model, dominate Russia’s domestic AI market.
Russia currently ranks 31st out of 83 countries in AI implementation, innovation and UK-based Tortoise Media’s Global AI Index, behind not only the United States and China, but also BRICS members India and Brazil.
Stanford University’s AI Vibrancy Tool, which rates 36 countries based on 42 AI indicators, including research and development, ranks Russia 29th.