Putin directs Russia's leading bank and government to work with China on AI.

Vladimir Putin promised to "ensure further co-operation with the People's Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence" to the government and Sberbank, which is leading Russia's AI initiatives. According to the UK-based Tortoise Media's Global AI Index, Russia is now ranked 31st out of 83 countries in terms of AI deployment, innovation, and investment. This places it far behind China, the United States, and other BRICS nations like Brazil and India.The Russian government and Sberbank, the nation's largest bank, have been instructed by President Vladimir Putin to expand their artificial intelligence collaboration with China.

Three weeks after Putin declared that Russia would collaborate with BRICS partners and other nations to create artificial intelligence, his directives were posted on the Kremlin's website on Wednesday. To "ensure further co-operation with the People's Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence," he advised the government and Sberbank, which is leading Russia's AI efforts.The world's leading manufacturers of microchips have stopped exporting to Russia as a result of Western sanctions meant to limit Moscow's access to the technologies it needs to continue its war against Ukraine, significantly limiting its aspirations in the field of artificial intelligence. In 2023, German Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, admitted that the most difficult hardware for Russia to replace was graphics processing units (GPUs), which are the microchips that support AI development.