While Gref met with Putin, you could hear another Gref talking in another hall.
"The first question is addressed to Mr. Akimov. You need data for AI to function".
Maksim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia: "This is my small experience with the artificial Mr. Gref".
Speech synthesis is just one of many AI technologies.
On the first day of the forum, the head of Sberbank was dressed in a T-shirt, while the minister of culture wore a sweater in the audience. On Saturday, everyone was expecting Putin and wearing business suits. But that's the only effect the president's arrival had. No special preparations.
During the discussion, a member of the presidential protocol appeared and placed something on the table.
"...a computer was created, that Microsoft wasn't able to create".
Then, the curtain over one of the entrances opened. And Putin's personal cameraman silently walked in, Then, the President walked in through the same curtain. No announcement was made, yet everyone stood up to see him.
The numerous smartphones will store important statements by the president in their memory. The Russian leadership understands that it's necessary to develop AI.
"It's also a step into the unknown".
...and will support this development in every way.
Vladimir Putin: "They say, and it's true, that the technological race, which is happening around the world, will be the toughest and most uncompromising race in the history of our civilization. And some even claim that humanity is creating its last invention. I don't know if that's true. I don't think there's any such thing as the last invention. But, there are reasons to think that way, I suppose".
- What to do about the inevitable future, where many will be left jobless?
German Gref, president and board chairman of Sberbank of Russia: The most important issue is overcoming one's fear. AI is a technology that will create jobs.
- But it's not yet clear which jobs, right?
- The thing is, what we see now is technology spreading in all directions, and this process is already creating jobs faster than they disappear.
"AI can't do it, that's a task for natural intelligence. Like, to walk here and there, arranging chairs and tables on the scene".
Russian programmers and internet companies are among the strongest in the world today. They make navigators, online-translators, search engines, taxi and food order services.
Arkady Volozh CEO of the Yandex group: "There's America, China, and Russia. I don't know of anyone else producing these technologies en-mass".
Boris Dobrodeev, CEO of Mail.Ru Group (Russia): "It's thanks to our mathematics education. We have highly talented mathematicians and engineers. Secondly, we have a unique internet ecosystem. It's a few major companies: Mail.Ru Group, Sberbank, Yandex, which create truly unique technologies".
And on top of that, those companies stated that they've created an alliance for AI development. Not only will they have to make new breakthroughs, but to do so carefully. If today virtually every step by every person is detected by cameras and tracked by geolocation, what could tomorrow bring?
Vladimir Putin: "We need to find a balance between the maximum disclosure of information and the human right to keep data protected".
It's not the first time that the president has noted that in a rapidly changing world, it's crucial to keep morality and ethics in mind. Two years ago, during the World Festival of Youth and Students, Putin gave an example of the challenges humanity faces due to the progress of genetic engineering. And if you add the progress of AI technologies to it, you'll get a truly unique mixture.
Vladimir Putin: "One can create a human being with set properties. A brilliant mathematician. Or a brilliant musician. But one can also create a soldier. Who can fight fearlessly, but also without empathy, mercy, and pain. In other words, humanity can and most likely will in the near future enter a very complicated and very challenging period of its existence and development. And what I've just mentioned can be scarier than a nuclear bomb. When we do something, whatever it may be, we should never forget about the moral and ethical basis of our cause. Everything we do should benefit people, should strengthen a person, not destroy a person".
In Putin's opinion, we should already be thinking about forming a moral code for human-AI interactions.
