“There is a danger of creating, with the nuclear closed club of world powers, a closed club of world powers in the field of artificial intelligence”, quotes Gref RIA News” .
The first factor limiting access to AI technologies could be the ban on exporting computer hardware, believes the head of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC) and member of the Public Chamber Sergey Grebennikov.
“Large generative models require a lot of resources: both money and capacity. And few people have such opportunities. In this respect, there is a risk that the most revolutionary technologies will only be accessible ‘to a privileged few – those who have enough resources. For example, today the most common artificial intelligence chips are made by the American company Nvidia, and their exports are limited to Russia and China” , he explains.
According to Grebennikov, a country that has advanced technologies can block access to countries that it considers “hostile” towards them. As a result, a cartel will be formed.
Today in Russia, Yandex, Sberbank, for example, Kandinsky have their own great models. In terms of AI such as facial recognition systems, Russia is in the top 5, and the leaders there are Chinese companies, said Dmitry Markov, CEO of MTS AI. But in the future, they will require even more resources.
Russia lags behind leaders in AI development mainly due to low computing power available for AI research, acknowledges Otari Melikishvili, a computer expert in the field of artificial intelligence . Namely, with their help, neural networks are formed.
All the experts interviewed by RG note that to solve the problem and keep the country among the leaders in AI research, serious investment in the industry and the development of international cooperation between the countries are necessary. This will help share innovations and minimize risk. Russia must make every effort to become a member of such an association, believes German Gref.
The second direction of AI isolation is the injection of fears and worries. This includes a recent letter from the Future of Life Institute, calling for all work on ChatGPT to cease. Experts note that this can be both a factor in the struggle of companies for the division of a promising market and an attempt to create a cartel of countries that will cut off objectionable states from the industry, whose revenues could start in coming years will represent a significant share of GDP. In particular, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, the contribution of the AI-related sphere to Russia’s GDP by 2025 could reach 2%. And by 2030 it should be at least 20 billion rubles, that is, it will increase at least twice.
“I’m sure that those who say stop development in the field of artificial intelligence will simply create a cartel in which they will invest in AI, develop in this direction, while the rest is hopelessly lagging behind. I regard statements about the need to suspend developments in the field of AI due to its danger as outright misinformation and an attempt to play on human fears and biases,” says Melikishvili.
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