Artificial Intelligence in Russia Issue 13, October 23, 2020

The Artificial Intelligence in Russia newsletter features a summary of recent Russian-language reports on the Russian AI and autonomy ecosystem, divided into the following sections:

• Governance and Legal Developments
• Military and Security Developments
• Corporate and Market Developments
• Education and Training Developments
• Spotlight: GosNIIAS
• In Brief: Russia's Top 10 Predictive Analytics Companies

The following preview shows the first item in this issue:

1. Tax relief proposed for AI professionals

According to reporting in newspapers Vedomosti and Kommersant on October 15-16, there are ongoing discussions between the Russian government and Russia’s information and communication technology (ICT) industry on support for the ICT sector in an environment of economic downturn in Russia, including as a result of the COVID pandemic. An AI industry group advising the implementation of the “Digital Economy” national effort reportedly proposed that, among other measures, the Russian government include tax relief for professionals working on “AI implementation.” They argued that the move could stimulate professional interest in the AI sphere and allow companies to raise salaries for AI professionals. This, in turn, could potentially help make Russian companies more competitive with their foreign counterparts and tackle persistent concerns about brain drain. Implementation of this proposal would require changes to the tax code, which are likely to be complex. Separately, industry representatives called on the Russian government to expand tax relief for the ICT sector as a whole. As reported in issue 7 of AI in Russia, the Russian government announced the implementation of reduced tax and insurance rates for software developers and equipment manufacturers.