Russia turns to China to advance AI race against US

Russia’s efforts to enlist China’s help in enhancing artificial intelligence are seen as an effort to challenge America’s lead in the field, while the outgoing Biden administration is expected to further curb Beijing’s access to AI chips. New export control measures are expected to be implemented.

As the new year began, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s state-owned Sberbank to work with China in research and development on AI technology, according to the Kremlin.

“The Russian president sees his country in a global competition for AI with the United States and has deployed state resources to try to compete with the US in information and cyberspace – two areas where artificial intelligence is Russia’s Aiding what they perceive to be Western narratives and influences,” said Samuel Bendet, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Moscow views Beijing’s success in AI as an example to emulate, Bendet told VOA in written comments, and “sees its cooperation with China as an essential step toward acquiring skill sets, knowledge and technology related to artificial intelligence.” is seen as.”

According to a November report by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the US currently leads in AI innovation, followed by China, which is lagging behind by a wide margin. According to UK-based Tortoise Media’s Global AI Index, Russia ranks 31st out of 83 countries in AI implementation, innovation and investment.

response to sanctions

Western sanctions imposed on Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine have limited the country’s AI development, and Bendet calls for the sanctions to be lifted, according to his report “The Role of AI in Russia’s Confrontation with the West.” For this, Moscow has turned to Beijing.

Sberbank, which Putin instructed to cooperate with China, is under Western sanctions.

It is Russia’s largest bank and leads the country’s AI development efforts.

The outgoing Biden administration is expected to impose a new set of export control measures aimed at further limiting China’s ability to access chips that support AI technology. According to Bloomberg, new measures could come as soon as Friday.

According to Reuters, Sberbank CEO German Gref said in 2023 that Russia may not obtain microchips, the graphics processing units needed to support AI development.

But the bank’s first deputy CEO, Alexander Vedyakhin, said in December that despite Western sanctions, Russia could improve its AI ranking by 2030 through its own developments.

Another key area where Russia has sought to further implement AI assistance from China is the military.

“There have already been top-level meetings between the Russian and Chinese militaries in 2024,” and there is likely to be “ongoing dialogue” between the two countries’ defense ministries to understand “how AI can be used in large-scale conventional conflict.” Could help, as Bendet said, “with what’s unfolding in Ukraine.”

According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Russian and Chinese officials met in Beijing early last year to discuss military applications of AI, particularly developing autonomous weapons.

AI-powered weapons

In December, Ukraine said Russia had begun using AI-powered strike drones with improved capabilities that can evade air defenses, identify key targets and operate offline.

James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia is likely to use AI technology in weaponizing drones as well as improving target detection and attack speed.

The China-Russia AI partnership “creates new risks for the US”, he said, but “military application of AI will not compensate for bad tactics” on the battlefield.

Attending an AI conference in Moscow last month, Song Haitao, president of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, said China plans to sign an agreement with Russia’s Sberbank to boost bilateral cooperation on AI development .

Speaking at the conference, Putin praised China for making “huge progress” in advancing AI technology and its application, including building “smart cities” and conducting “modern governance”.

Sam Bresnik, a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said that while it’s not entirely clear how Beijing could benefit from helping Moscow develop AI, China could get some military assistance from Russia in return. Wants technologies and wartime data.

“Russia is very good at building submarines, and there has been speculation in the past that China might benefit from acquiring such technology. Another is helicopter technology,” Bresnik said.

“The war in Ukraine has generated an astonishing amount of data,” Bresnik added. “China would probably be interested in getting its hands on them because getting more militarily relevant data from Russia would help China develop its own AI systems for the military.”

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Thursday that “in terms of the application of artificial intelligence, China actively advocates the principles of ‘people-oriented’ and ‘intelligent for good’, ensuring that artificial intelligence is safe, reliable and controllable, better enabling global sustainable development and enhancing the general well-being of all mankind.”