On January 1, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered his government and Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, to collaborate with China to build artificial intelligence.
The order was given three weeks after Putin announced that Russia would cooperate with BRICS members and other nations to develop AI.
His instruction to Sberbank, which is the leader in Russia’s AI development effort, is to ensure further cooperation with China in technological research and development in AI.
Western sanctions were intended to limit Russia’s capability of acquiring necessary technologies to wage war on Ukraine, resulting in the world’s major chipmakers halting exports to Russia, and limiting the country’s AI effort.
German Gref, CEO of Sberbank, said in 2023 that the graphic processing units (GPUs), a crucial part of AI development, were the most difficult hardware to replace for Russia.
With a partnership between the Kremlin and non-Western countries, Russia seeks to challenge the United States’ dominance of AI technology.
On December 11, Putin said that the new AI Alliance Network would bring specialists from BRICS countries and other countries interested in the alliance.
