AI is the first in line to be tested in Russian sandboxes, the need to determine the criteria for AI solutions, open practices of the world’s cities and other topics of the month - ICT.Moscow has collected the most notable topics for October about artificial intelligence from the @ict_moscow_ai telegram feed in one digest.

Artificial intelligence and big data are the first in line to be tested in Russian sandboxes

In October, Mikhail Mishustin approved a list of 10 technologies for use under experimental legal regimes, the law on which will come into effect on January 1, 2021.

The first in this list are neurotechnologies, AI technologies (including computer vision, natural language processing, recommender systems, etc.) and technologies for working with big data (developments in the field of data traceability and interoperability, software-defined data storages, etc.). Nevertheless, business and government representatives are still discussing the criteria for assessing the presence of AI in the developments.

In mid-October,  the “Artificial Intelligence” working group at ANO “Digital Economy” proposed to return personal income tax to IT specialists involved in the implementation of AI in Russia, and the discussion led to the question about the criteria, which was left open. 

AI practices of global megacities are becoming more open

In early October, it was announced that Amsterdam and Helsinki had launched open online registers of city AI projects. The projects were presented at the Next Generation Internet Summit. According to the authors of the project, the main task of such registers is to make the process of using AI algorithms transparent in urban practice and to share the experience of their application.

         •        Amsterdam Register

         •        Helsinki Register

Later, the British company Vivacity Lab elaborated on the application of computer vision in urban video surveillance systems. In particular, AI was used to monitor the observance of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The system does not store video recordings, but generates a database to check whether the restrictions imposed in cities are observed. The Vivacity system is used in London, Manchester and three other UK cities.

The international race for leadership in AI continues

Saudi Arabia has revealed its national AI strategy until 2030. The document was announced during the Global AI Summit, which was held virtually on October 21-22. Over the next 10 years, the country plans to invest more than $20 billion in this area, train and attract more than 20 thousand specialists and create a specialized ecosystem with more than 300 AI startups. Thus, Saudi Arabia seeks to enter the top 15 countries in the world in terms of AI development and application.

In October it was reported that in the near future Turkey could also present its national strategy on AI.

In general, countries show high interest in the technology. For example, at the beginning of the year, the EU presented the concept of an AI development approach. In September the United States and the United Kingdom signed a declaration on cooperation in the field of AI, and in October the United States approved a strategy for world leadership in the field of emerging technologies, among which AI and neurointerfaces were named. The US sees China as its main competitor in this area, as China also plans to become the world AI leader by 2030. Russia is also developing national AI initiatives: at the end of August, the Concept of AI and Robotics Regulation was presented.

AI is one of the most in-demand technologies for testing with 5G in the lab

Such a conclusion can be drawn from a review published by ICT.Moscow at the end of October with an analysis of publications about the global experience in 5G testing at 116 laboratory-type sites in 24 countries, including 10 Russian sites. In terms of mentions, AI is in the top 3 among technologies with which 5G is being tested in the world:

In addition, the following patterns were observed:

• 34% of 116 labs analyzed are already testing 5G with AI;
• the engagement of cities and states in testing 5G together with AI is as noticeable as the participation of telecom equipment vendors;
• a new format of 5G testing - in innovative harbours and industry parks that can be created on the basis of AI and 5G - has become more prominent.

You can find the dataset about AI here. For full version click here.

The commentaries on the findings by experts from different business areas are available in the special material of ICT.Moscow.

Original (in Russian)