Putin orders strengthened AI alliance with China amid sanctions
Reuters reported that Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian government and its main bank, Sberbank, to deepen cooperation with China in AI technology.
On Wednesday, January 1, a directive on this matter was published on the Kremlin's website. As noted by Reuters, this occurred three weeks after Putin announced that Russia would collaborate with partners from BRICS and other countries to develop artificial intelligence.
According to the published guidelines, Vladimir Putin has mandated the Russian government and the state-owned bank Sberbank to "ensure further co-operation with the People's Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence."
Western sanctions aimed at limiting Moscow's access to technologies used in the invasion of Ukraine have caused the world's largest microprocessor manufacturers to halt exports to Russia. This has severely restricted Moscow's ambitions in artificial intelligence.
German Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, admitted in 2023 that Russia is struggling to replace graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for the development of artificial intelligence.
Russia ranks 31st among 83 countries in the Global Artificial Intelligence Index. Reuters indicates that through cooperation with countries outside the Western world, Russia aims to challenge the United States' dominance in one of the most promising and key technologies of the 21st century.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, China has tightened its relations with Russia, even though Beijing officially denied accusations of supporting Russian military actions.
