Putin orders AI alliance with China amid Western tech sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government and Sberbank, a major state-owned bank, to enhance cooperation with China in the area of AI technology, according to a report by Reuters.
On Wednesday, January 1, a directive detailing these plans was published on the Kremlin's website. Reuters noted that this directive comes three weeks after Putin announced that Russia would collaborate with partners from BRICS and other nations to advance artificial intelligence development.
The guidelines emphasize Putin's mandate for the Russian government and 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 limiting Moscow's access to technologies crucial for its actions in Ukraine have led the world's largest microprocessor manufacturers to stop exporting to Russia. This has significantly hindered Moscow's ambitions in AI development.
In 2023, German Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, acknowledged that Russia is struggling to replace graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI development.
Currently, Russia ranks 31st out of 83 countries in the Global Artificial Intelligence Index. Reuters reports that by partnering with countries outside the Western sphere, Russia aims to challenge the United States' dominance in one of the most promising technologies of the 21st century.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, China has strengthened its ties with Russia, even though Beijing has officially denied supporting Russia's military actions.
