Artificial Intelligence in Russia Issue 19, January 29, 2021

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
• International Collaboration
• Article: Nature of Military Conflicts Today and in the Foreseeable Future
• Spotlight: Penicillin Counter Battery Radar
• In Brief: List of Presidential Instructions Following AI Journey 2020

The following preview shows the first item in this issue:

1. Russian government publishes draft

resolutions on AI development subsidies As discussed in past issues of AI in Russia, the Russian government has been organizing its spending priorities on technological innovation. In January 2021, the Russian government published seven draft resolutions approving the provision of subsidies aimed at AI development. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development developed the resolutions, which will amount to more than 16.5 billion rubles from the federal budget from 2021 to 2023.

The government decrees would grant subsidies to the following:

• The nonprofit organization “Fund of the Development Center for the Development and Commercialization of New Technologies,” with the goal of supporting pilot projects to test AI technologies in priority industries. For this measure, the budget will provide 736.8 million rubles in 2021, 1.8 billion rubles in 2022, and 1.4 billion rubles in 2023.
• The federal state budget institution “Fund for Assistance to the Development of Small Form Enterprises in the Scientific and Technical Sphere,” with the goal of carrying out grant support to small enterprises engaged in the development, implementation, and commercialization of products, services, and solutions in the AI field, as well as developers of open libraries in the AI field. It will also support the acceleration of projects using AI. For this measure, the budget will provide 1.4 billion rubles in 2021, 1.9 billion rubles in 2022, and 1.8 billion rubles in 2023.
• The independent nonprofit organization “Russia – The Country of Opportunities,” so that it can hold AI-related hackathons aimed at solving business and social problems, including with the use of government datasets, and for holding lectures on AI. For this measure, the budget will provide 37.4 million rubles in 2021, 246.1 million rubles in 2022, and 209.4 million rubles in 2023.
• To the independent nonprofit organization “National Priorities,” to conduct a popularization campaign aimed at increasing the level of confidence in AI. For this measure, the budget will provide 50.6 million rubles in 2021, 106.3 million rubles in 2022, and 74 million rubles in 2023.
• To the nonprofit organization “University of the National Technological Initiative 2035,” to formulate AI-related projects for students, to ensure that Russian citizens receive professional education on AI, to develop a digital accounting solution, and to develop a community in the field of AI. For this measure, the budget will provide 236.8 million rubles in 2021, 346.8 million rubles in 2022, and 315.6 million rubles in 2023.
• To research centers in the field of AI, to develop “strong” AI and systems of trusted AI, and to explore the ethical aspects of the use of AI. For this measure, the budget will provide 1.2 billion rubles in 2021, 2 billion rubles in 2022, and 2 billion rubles in 2023.
• To the “Center of Expertise” subdivision of the nonprofit organization “Analytical Center under the Russian Government,” to implement the federal project “Artificial Intelligence.” For this measure, the budget will provide 229 million rubles in 2021, 271.4 million rubles in 2022, and 7 million rubles in 2023.