Russia shifts gears amid sanctions to make strides in artificial intelligence race

MOSCOW

Russia is accelerating its efforts to find solutions around the many sanctions imposed on the country, seeking to participate in the global technology race that is shaped by the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) with its new robot and homegrown large language models.

Russia is determined to reach its goals of technological independence despite heavy sanctions and embargoes by Western countries.

Russian tech giants unveiled their most recent offerings at the AI Journey event, held in Moscow by Russian firm Sber. President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the forum, signaled a new strategic era in the country’s efforts with producing domestic solutions against sanctions.

He said the West’s efforts to monopolize these technologies are dangerous, and that Russia should develop its own, noting that the country’s energy resources should also give it an edge in the race due to the significant energy requirements to train AI.

Russia is led by companies like Sber and Yandex in the global AI race.

Sber’s humanoid robot “Green” has come to the fore as one of the most notable developments in the humanoid robot industry recently, as the firm's CEO German Gref said Green was a concrete example of Russian engineers’ “physical AI” vision.

Green, powered by Sber’s AI model GigaChat, can perceive its surroundings and interact with the environment, alongside its pre-programmed movement capabilities such as dancing. Experts say Green may be used in a wide range of applications, from industrial production to personal assistance in the future.

Sber announced the latest version of GigaChat, a ChatGPT competitor. Company executives say the new GigaChat model can do more than generate text and write code, with new capabilities in processing satellite imagery and understanding more complex voice commands.

Company representatives say GigaChat’s Russian language processing is higher than competitors in the market, while the model is already in use in public services to boost efficiency. Sber also unveiled its smart ATM at the forum — it integrates GigaChat to support quick health checks and discussing financial matters like mortgage with customers, alongside regular ATM functionality.

Meanwhile, Yandex, also known as Russia’s Google, has incorporated AI into its projects — the company’s courier robots, also called Yandex Rovers, are powered by AI.

Yandex, while working on self-driving technology, is developing new algorithms to enable autonomous cars to make safer decisions in congested traffic and on snowy Russian roads — the company classifies these technologies as an infrastructure initiative to transform the logistics and transportation sectors of the country.

Russia is also making advancements in using AI in its defense industry amid its war in Ukraine.

The Russian defense is focusing on projects to boost the autonomy of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Experts say AI-powered software is increasingly becoming more prevalent in electronic warfare systems due to their use in target identification — technologies like swarm UAVs and AI assistants for pilots are among the top priorities of the Russian army’s modernization efforts.

While Russia is making these advances in AI, experts say that the country is facing serious difficulties in acquiring hardware. Russia’s access to graphics processing units from chipmakers like Nvidia is restricted due to European and US sanctions.

Russia is working with China and using parallel import methods to acquire needed hardware, while its domestic processor projects like Elbrus and Baikal have been insufficient.