May 2021 - Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy in Russia

CNA Research Memorandum | 14 Governance and Legal Aspects of AI in Russia In the last few years, the Russian government has prioritized the development of governance documents and the reform of its legal industry to set itself up for success in the rapidly growing field of AI. [...] In December 2020, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development published a list of AI projects it proposed to implement in four Russian ministries and three government departments by 2024.75 The projects include the use of AI by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, AI analysis of images by the Ministry of Emergencies to identify and manage natural disasters, and the creation of a chatbot based on neur. [...] While the Russian government has lofty goals for digitalization of the economy and the development of AI technologies, the realities of the economic situation have necessitated adjustment of the implementation plans. [...] At the end of 2019, the “Digital Economy” program had the worst budget execution of any of the national projects with just 53.6 percent of the budget spent.90 Articles speculated that this was due to a number of reasons, including management issues and a lack of a holistic concept for the program’s implementation.91 In the first nine months of 2020, the budget execution was just 20.6 percent of th. [...] Russia’s AI ecosystem in the broader context The goals of Russia’s AI ecosystem are best understood within the broader context of Russia’s economic development and modernization efforts, and include the improvement of the well- being of Russians as well as the conditions for business and entrepreneurial activity.