Russia's quest to lead the world in AI is doomed

In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin famously stated that whoever becomes the leader in artificial intelligence "will become the ruler of the world." Most experts on technology and security would agree with Putin about the importance of AI, which will ultimately reshape healthcare, transportation, industry, national security, and more. Nevertheless, Moscow's recognition of AI's importance will not produce enough breakthroughs to obtain the technological edge that it so deeply desires. Russia will ultimately fail in its quest to become a leader in AI because of its inability to foster a culture of innovation. Russia's anxieties about competing in the information age are far from new. In 1983, then-Soviet Minister of Defense Nikolai Ogarkov lamented to the New York Times that in the United States, "small children -- even before they begin school -- play with computers….here