Authorities can create a resource for developers of programs based on neural networks

The Federation Council proposes that the Ministry of Digital Development create, at the expense of the budget, a state platform for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide developers with access to computing infrastructure and data for the development of programs based on neural networks. Under sanctions, servers are expensive and difficult to obtain, market participants admit. They support the idea. But experts talk about technological difficulties and the risks of creating unequal conditions in the market.

Kommersant got acquainted with the decision of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy under the Federation Council dated October 12. It follows from it that the Ministry of Digital Development, as part of updating the National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence until 2030, recommended creating a state platform for the development of AI, where developers will be able to access computing infrastructure and data. On October 17, the deputy chairman of the council for the development of the digital economy under the Federation Council, Artem Sheikin, sent recommendations to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development. The senator asked to be informed about the results of consideration of the initiative by November 13.

“Russian developers, who do not have sufficient resources, must have access to government data to create artificial intelligence technologies,” Mr. Sheikin explained to Kommersant. According to him, the platform should host data sets (data sets), on the basis of which AI systems can be trained. Developers will be given access to the computing infrastructure. The project, in his opinion, should be financed from the budget. The Ministry of Digital Development reported that no recommendations have been received yet.

Previously, small Russian companies used the cloud resources of Amazon, Google and other large international players for development, but now there is no such opportunity, says Alexey Kobzev, leading analyst at RecFaces. According to him, to create a state platform, you will need equipment (servers and data storage systems), virtualization environments, specialized software and tools, secure access tools and transparent terms of use.

“Currently, for medium-sized companies with their own development departments, capital investments in infrastructure and the cost of supporting it amount to millions of rubles monthly,” the expert notes. According to the director of business development at Develonica (part of Softline Group) Roman Smirnov, the cost of creating a system, even without taking into account the cost of equipment, can be estimated at 5–20 billion rubles.

Equipment, experts believe, may become one of the key problems. According to the leading ML developer of the IT company SimbirSoft Denis Stenyushkin, the main component of such solutions is special industrial video cards on which neural networks are trained. The main technology supplier is the American Nvidia, which announced its withdrawal from the Russian market, he emphasizes: “If a way out of this situation is found, then the project has a future.”

“We have been asking for such an initiative for more than two years and consider it extremely useful for the development of AI technologies in the country. Under the conditions of sanctions restrictions, servers are expensive and difficult to obtain,” said VisionLabs CEO Dmitry Markov. The initiative, in his opinion, will allow developers to gain access to servers, which contributes to the development of technology.

But Daria Zubritskaya, director of communications for the Raketa cost management platform, doubts that everyone will be allowed to access the infrastructure: “Probably, regulation will be introduced that will stipulate the procedure for use, requirements for companies and for software distribution.”

Timofey Kornev