Alisa, a virtual reality assistant developed by Russia's tech giant Yandex, has been nominated to become the next president of Russia by thousands of supporters across the country. The favorite for elections scheduled for March 2018, President Vladimir Putin, announced his candidacy on Wednesday. Putin is seeking a fourth term in office which would extend his tenure into 2024. Other contenders for the presidency will likely include familiar political figures from the pro-Kremlin Communist Party and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, as well as new faces such as the former reality TV star Ksenia Sobchak and the business-oriented Party of Growth leader Boris Titov. It appears they will now be challenged by Alisa's progressive promise to bring "the political system of the future, built exclusively on rational decisions made on the basis of clear algorithms," the Lenta news website reported.

Genetically-modified superhuman soldiers'worse than a nuclear bomb' could soon become a reality, according to Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Speaking at a youth festival this week, Putin claimed that an army of trained killers could be created if scientists play with man's genetic code. Putin suggested that world leaders should agree on strict regulation to prevent the creation of mass-killing soldiers who feel no pain or fear. Genetically-modified super soldiers'worse than a nuclear bomb' could soon become a reality, according to Russian President, Vladimir Putin Putin warned that messing with the genetic code could have serious consequences. He said: 'One may imagine that a man can create a man not only theoretically but also practically.

Vladimir Putin has expressed his fears over artificial intelligence by asking Russia's largest technology firm how long it will be until smart robots'eat us'. The Russian president was speaking to Arkady Volozh, chief of internet firm Yandex, during a tour of the company's Moscow headquarters. Volozh was discussing the potential of AI when Putin caused surprise by asking when the technology will'eat us'. The Russian president was speaking to Arkady Volozh, chief of internet firm Yandex, during a tour at the company's Moscow headquarters. He replied: 'I hope never.' After a pause, he then explained that other machines are'better than humans' in certain areas, giving the example of an excavator being better at digging than a person with a shovel.