Just three months after demonstrating an unexpected interest in the Ethereum technology — in which he sees a potential instrument for tech modernization, — Vladimir Putin has shared with Russian students his far-reaching views on artificial intelligence (AI).
In a 45-minute “open lesson” about science on Friday, the Russian president told Russian students that “whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world,” RT reported.
“Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict,” Putin warned.
No one should “monopolize” this field, the president added.
“If we become leaders in this area, we will share this know-how with entire world, the same way we share our nuclear technologies today,” he promised.
Taking place in the Yaroslavl region, the open lesson was attended by students and teachers from 16,000 schools, with a total audience exceeding one million, according to the Russian media.
The Russian president’s statements were heard well beyond Russian academic circles.
“It begins,” Elon Musk twitted in a reference to fears that AI could be used to develop new-generation weapons and ultimately usher a new war.
“China, Russia, soon all countries with strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3,” the businessman added.
Last month 117 technology leaders, including Musk, called on the United Nations to ban lethal autonomous weapons, otherwise known as “killer robots,” in orrder to avoid a “third revolution in warfare.”
“Once developed, [autonomous weapons] will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways,” the signatories wrote.
Today, Russia’s military robots and drones are remotely operated, notes Gregory C. Allen, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security. By 2025, however, AI-powered robotic military units will be supplied to the Russian army, according to a plan announced by the Defense Ministry in April 2017. These “intelligent robotic complexes” will no longer need a human operator to fight and kill.
Similar plans were announced in 2015 by the Russian Military-Industrial Commission.
