The Russian Defense Ministry’s technological chief claimed this week that Russia is “leading the way” in the artificial intelligence (AI) race that erupted during the Ukraine war, but a leading expert has rejected this.
“We are very excited about this new technology,” General Vasily Elistratov, the Kremlin’s head of AI development, said at a military-technical forum in Moscow this week. Claims on Wednesday Despite “attempts to isolate us at the technological level,” Russia “remains ahead of our foreign partners.”
Russia’s more than two-year invasion of Ukraine has intensified the AI race as Kiev, Moscow and NATO nations rush to improve AI capabilities for wartime applications.
Russian Defense Minister Colonel-General Sergei Shoigu (center) inspects the implementation of a state defense order on drone production in Russia’s Udmurt Republic, February 10, 2024. (Photo: RussianDM/Dmitry Kharichkov/Pool/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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But while the war has brought new attention to the development of AI-integrated defense systems, particularly autonomous weapons systems, Russian President Vladimir Putin has long made AI a top priority.
In 2017, five years before Europe experienced its largest war since World War II, President Putin declared that “whoever leads in AI will rule the world,” and according to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s AI market grew 18% by 2022 alone.
Moscow stepped up its AI efforts last year, It allocated about $54 million. While it dedicates 100% of the 2024 federal budget to AI investments, this is only a fraction of the $1.8 billion the U.S. has allocated for AI in 2024. 2024 and 2025 defense budgets.
Despite Moscow’s efforts, Rebecca Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of “The Putin Strategy,” told Fox News Digital that it’s “highly unlikely that Russia is outpacing the US in AI development.”
Kofler explained that from the start, the US and Russia have taken different approaches when it comes to AI, with Washington focused on advancing the technology while Moscow has also focused on ways to use AI for psychological warfare.
On January 11, 2024, a “No Drone Zone” sign was installed in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in central Moscow, prohibiting unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from flying over the area. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
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“A cyber attack can not only disrupt a computer, but it can also have a psychological effect on users,” she explained. “In wartime, attacking computers can disrupt the military. [systems]”
Kofler pointed to the clear psychological impact that Russia has had on the population as a whole through disinformation campaigns, propaganda, digital fakes and election interference – tactics not typically employed by the US or other Western countries.
“The United States doesn’t do that,” she said. “That’s not how we do things.”
“That’s always been an issue with Russia, not just with foreign audiences but with domestic audiences,” Kofler continued. “With the power of AI, you can spread disinformation much faster.”
This could mean Moscow may be ahead when it comes to decision-making techniques, Kofler said, but he again questioned whether Russia is ahead of the U.S. in all aspects of AI development.
The US began deploying AI techniques in the war towards the end of the war on terror in Afghanistan as a way to ease the burden on US and coalition forces trying to maintain human intelligence networks while the Taliban retreated.
From the beginning, human surveillance was US and Western allies commit to ‘responsible’ AI adoption It remains to be seen what role this particular element will play in adversarial strategy planning when AI takes to the battlefield during wartime.
A Ukrainian Air Intelligence Service soldier carries a drone over the area of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 10, 2024. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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But it was probably not just the United States that Elistratov was referring to when he praised Moscow’s AI development compared to its “partner” countries.
China, Russia’s main ally, has made great strides when it comes to developing AI and is often seen as the United States’ main rival in the race to develop all aspects of the fast-growing technology.
Kofler said Russia was almost certainly beating allies such as Iran and North Korea in the AI race, but that it was likely “closer” to China when it came to AI development.
