Russia's Artificial Intelligence Boom May Not Survive the War

The last year was a busy one for Russia's military and civilian artificial intelligence efforts. Moscow poured money into research and development, and Russia's civil society debated the country's place in the larger AI ecosystem. But Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February and the resulting sanctions have brought several of those efforts to a halt--and thrown into question just how many of its AI advancements Russia will be able to salvage and continue. Ever since Putin extolled the development of robotic combat systems in the new State Armaments Program in 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defense has been hyper-focused on AI. We have learned more about the Russian military's focus on AI in the past year thanks to several public revelations.