The following report by a Russian AI think tank provides an overview of Russia’s AI landscape as of the end of 2020. The authors argue that the Russian AI industry is lagging relative to other countries, and recommend a three- to five-fold increase in Russian AI research funding.
The Russian source text is available online at: https://www.aireport.ru/ai_index_2020
U.S. $1 ≈ 74 Russian rubles (RUB), as of December 6, 2021.
ALMANAC
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
2020 Index Report
Analytical Digest
Moscow / No. 8 / April 2021
From our Editor-in-Chief:
A year has passed since our first publication, the Almanac 2019 Index Report. In that issue, for the first time, we tried to put together all the information about the AI industry that we could find so that we could analyze it and publicly share our findings. Now, a year later, relying on that information, we are able to evaluate the past year.
The year has not been an easy one: We have all been affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Much of our regular life and work has been disrupted, many people lost their jobs, and many companies suffered losses. Some industries have found themselves in crisis, whereas others have been on the rise.
As for the global AI industry, it has been barely affected by the pandemic. In fact, the pandemic has been nothing short of a boon for tech companies. Not so much in Russia, though, where no such AI growth has been reported. The reason is, primarily, that we have been too slow to act. And we’ve got to be proactive!
We, analysts, are like physicians: We collect evidence and statistics, diagnose conditions, and recommend remedies. We do not worry about whether our clients will like our reports or not. All we want is to continue providing accurate and objective reporting and commentary on the industry.
In the last report, we provided many recommendations. Unfortunately, almost all of them are still valid, and we have had to include them in this report as well.
We hope that, with the adoption of the Federal Artificial Intelligence Project, things will start changing and moving faster. We look forward to hearing our researchers speak annually at conferences and to seeing our new startups dazzle us with their new technologies, which will, hopefully, attract large companies!
We welcome your comments and suggestions, and we look forward to discussions on any platforms. For it is through the forum of discussion that we can find ways to move faster and more efficiently!
For the rest of the translation, download the PDF below.