Last week Sber, Russia’s financial and tech giant (previously known as Sberbank) announced plans to open an international institute for artificial intelligence in Russia as early January 2021.
Sber’s head Herman Gref defined the main mission of the institute as “to provide an interdisciplinary approach to research” in the field of AI.
At the first stage, the institute will conduct academic activities, seeking “symbiosis of fundamental research and their orientation towards applied areas of activity.” Both Russian and foreign scientists will participate in research programs of the institute.
Companies within the Sber ecosystem conduct more than a thousand research projects in the field of AI, noted Gref — who sees in Amazon and Apple sources of inspiration for his organization.
Combining profitability and ethics
Sber now has more than a thousand research projects and “for every 15 rubles invested in the development of DS teams, we receive more than 100 rubles of additional income,” the TASS news agency quoted Gref as saying.
In addition, a special working group will be set up to implement ethics principles in AI research and practice, with a series of global consultations.
“Society and business are actively raising issues of new ethics and tolerance — to gender, age, beliefs. But when we talk about the new ethics, we should not forget about AI. For modern companies, it is important to formulate ethical principles for the development and use of AI,” said Gref.
Sber’s AI expertise at the Council of Europe
Sber is also involved in the Council of Europe’s works on AI regulatory issues. Last month Andrey Neznamov, Executive Director of Sber’s Data Research Center for Government Bodies, was appointed to chair an intergovernmental group for global consultations of the Council of Europe’s Ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence.
In this position, Neznamov will “help the Council of Europe and be engaged in holding global consultations with European states, scientists, and businesses regarding AI regulatory issues in Europe until the end of 2021,” according to Sber.
Created in 2019, the Council of Europe’s Ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence is working on framework to regulate AI technology in Europe. It gathers representatives of Council of Europe member states as well as observers from international agencies, scientists, and business circles.
