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Russia’s Top AI Executive Says New Global ‘AI Club’ Will Hold Power Comparable to Nuclear States
A senior Russian AI executive warns that nations leading in artificial intelligence will gain influence comparable to nuclear powers. He stresses the need for sovereign AI models, citing national security, data confidentiality, and rising geopolitical pressure as Russia pushes to build homegrown technologies.
A top Russian AI executive has said that artificial intelligence will grant global influence comparable to nuclear capability for the countries that manage to lead in this technology—potentially reshaping power dynamics in the 21st century.
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy CEO of Sberbank—an institution that has evolved from a traditional lender into a technology-driven AI powerhouse—told Reuters that Russia is proud to be among the seven nations developing domestically built AI technologies.
Speaking at Russia’s flagship annual “AI Journey” conference, Vedyakhin said, “AI is becoming the new nuclear project. A new ‘nuclear club’ is emerging worldwide, where either you have your own national large language model or you don’t.”
He emphasized that Russia must develop at least two or three original AI models for use in sensitive sectors such as public services, healthcare, and education, rather than relying on “retrained foreign models.”
“It is impossible to upload confidential data into a foreign model—it is simply prohibited,” he added, warning that doing so could lead to serious consequences. Only Russian-built models, he said, should handle government data.
President Vladimir Putin stated last week that domestically created AI systems are essential for safeguarding Russia’s sovereignty. Sberbank and tech company Yandex are leading the country’s efforts to compete with U.S. and Chinese AI giants.
Vedyakhin acknowledged that Russia faces significant challenges in competing with global leaders in computing power, especially under Western technology restrictions, and cautioned that this gap may continue to widen.
He also warned that current levels of energy consumption make returns on AI investments “either very distant or not visible at all,” describing the global surge in AI infrastructure spending as an “overheating hype.”
According to him, excessive investment in AI infrastructure may not yield meaningful benefits due to the rapid pace of technological change. He added that Russia has avoided an “AI bubble” largely because its investment levels have remained comparatively moderate.
