According to President Vladimir Putin, Russia needed to counter the influence of “biased” American bots by leveraging its own technology, highlighting the perceived Western monopoly on synthetic knowledge as a significant concern.
The emergence of the ChatGPT conceptual robot last year marked a pivotal moment in the AI landscape, intensifying the global competition for AI advancement. Countries like Russia and China have significantly ramped up their investments, aiming to challenge the United States’ dominance in the AI market.
During an AI conference in Moscow, Putin raised issues regarding the perceived bias in European search engines and relational models, emphasizing their disregard for Russian culture. He criticized the prevalent use of Western data in training modern techniques, stating that it often excludes or misrepresents Russian perspectives.
Putin emphasized the importance of Russia staying ahead in technological innovation and expressed strong opposition to the monopolistic control of foreign technologies within the country, deeming it both dangerous and unacceptable.
The recent military actions in Ukraine have disrupted Russia’s tech sector, exacerbated by American sanctions limiting access to essential computer components and prompting an exodus of IT professionals to avoid military conscription.
In response to these challenges, Putin has repeatedly called for reduced reliance on Western technologies, directing substantial government investments towards the development of mainframes and AI capabilities.
The success of ChatGPT has spurred a flurry of activity in the tech industry, with companies like Google rushing to introduce their chatbot and investors showing heightened interest in AI projects.
Sber, Russia’s largest financial institution, unveiled its conversational AI game “Gigachat” in April, signaling a push towards AI innovation, albeit in a limited test environment.
