The geopolitical impacts of artificial intelligence discussed at St Petersburg University

The event was moderated by Professor Karin Kneissl, Head of the G.O.R.K.I Centre at St Petersburg University. The discussion was attended by: Sergei Nakvasin, Director of the National Centre for the Development of Artificial Intelligence under the Government of the Russian Federation; Alexander Yakovenko, Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Kirill Shamalov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of SIBUR Holding; Viktor Titov, Senior Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics at St Petersburg University; Sergey Pospelov, Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO PA); Ovanes Petrosyan, Director of the St Petersburg University Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science; and other representatives of federal agencies, academic and business communities.

This interdisciplinary discussion has been the first in Russia to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on geopolitics, international relations and state sovereignty. Particular emphasis was placed on the current status and applications of AI technologies in Iran, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, where substantial funds are invested in the development of AI technologies, including federal and state funds. Despite all claims that artificial intelligence is primarily intended to benefit people, it is being more and more actively employed in the military context, with AI technologies being tested and refined on civilians caught in the midst of military conflicts.

The insightful discussion highlighted the clear signs of the ongoing structural changes in several areas of politics and economics due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies. This allowed the roundtable participants to come up with a list of thematic recommendations that could be taken into consideration by decision-making bodies. The main conclusion is that the development of artificial intelligence does not threaten the existence of the state as such. Although artificial intelligence has already become a fact of objective reality that is to play an increasingly significant role in many fields, the geopolitical shifts that are currently taking place in the world will support the efforts for maintaining the existing inter-state relations. Another deterring factor is that the development and application of digital technologies require quite tangible energy investments.