The obligation of technological communication networks owners to store traffic for three years for provision to intelligence services will impose significant costs and risks for enterprises. This information was reported by TASS with reference to the review of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) of the corresponding draft law of Minkomsvyaz (the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications). 

 
 According to the RSPP, due to the fact that technological networks are used in many industries (communications, IT, transport, power industry, mechanical engineering, scientific activities, etc.), the implementation of the law will impose significant costs on the owners of such networks and will create risks of disrupting technological processes of enterprises and reduction of the safety of these processes.

 
 In addition, the RSPP considers it unacceptable to extend the requirements for the operators of public communications networks to the owners of technological networks, as the networks have different architectures and can use special means and technologies of communication that are required for production processes. Also, the enterprises currently do not have information systems which must be implemented to meet the requirements for storing traffic, RSPP notes.

 
 The draft law developed by Minkomsvyaz, which amends the federal law “On communications”, implies that the owners of technological networks must store “information about the reception, transmission, delivery and (or) processing of voice data, text messages, images, sounds, video or other messages of communication services users” for three years in the territory of the Russian Federation, and provide intelligence agencies with this information if necessary.

 
 Technological networks include communication networks developed to support the production activities of organizations and enterprises.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/rspp-ne-podderzhal-proekt-minkomsviazi-o-trekhletnem-khranenii-trafika-tekhnologicheskikh-setei/">Original (in Russian)</a>

TASS

Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) did not support the draft of Minkomsvyaz on the three-year traffic storage

Several Russian banks, such as Promsvyazabnk, Credit Bank of Moscow and VTB are exploring the possibility to issue loans at ATMs using biometrics, Izvestiya reports.

 
 According to Alexander Petrov, the Director of Payment Cards Department at Promsvyazbank, not only the current customers of the bank who have already opened an account at the bank branch, but also people who previously were not clients of the bank - after being identified using the Unified biometrics system - can receive loans. 

 
 Credit Bank of Moscow is developing a similar service, Izvestiya notes. It is expected that after the identification through an ATM the products of the credit institution will be available for the client at the ATM. The possibility of issuing loans is being explored by VTB and UBRD (Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development).

 
 Sberbank and Tinkoff are already piloting facial recognition at ATMs. It was reported in January that Sberbank was testing facial biometrics technology at several self-service devices in the offices where they do not work with customers. Tinkoff is testing ATMs in Moscow shopping malls.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/banki-izuchaiut-vozmozhnost-vydachi-kreditov-v-bankomatakh-po-biometrii/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Izvestia

Russian banks are exploring the possibility of issuing loans at ATMs using biometrics

At the end of July, IT company Yandex <a target="_blank" href="https://yandex.ru/company/researches/2020/ai-news">published</a> a research report titled “Artificial intelligence in news headlines”. It included all materials of Yandex.News since 2010 the headlines of which included such combinations of words such as “artificial intelligence”, “machine learning” and “neural network”, as well as “AI” acronym.

 
 The authors focused on the context where artificial intelligence (AI) was mentioned in the news: what it created, determined and forecast. After the study had been published in the media, the news with reference to Yandex PR team about the places that different cities took based on the number of AI mentions (Saint Petersburg - second place, Perm - fourth place, and Kazan entered top-7 cities) came out.

 
 ICT.Moscow requested data from Yandex and tried to figure out how the number of AI mentions has changed in the context about cities and in general over the past 10 years and what topics the media focused on.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 The initial data was provided by Yandex, around 61.5 thousand publications featured by Yandex.News were collected in total. Data analysis and interpretation were carried out by ICT.Moscow.
 </div>
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 Out of the 61.5 thousand materials, 84% are from 2017-2020. In 2017 the number of publications exceeded 11 thousand, and over the past three and a half years AI was mentioned in the headlines of 51.5 thousand pieces of news.

 
 Despite the fact that 2020 is not over yet, negative dynamics can be currently seen (for the first time since 2010). If the average number of publications per month is considered, the year 2020 is at the level of 2017 - about 950 materials per month. 

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 In relation to the total number of publications in Yandex.News from 2010 through July 2020 (about 282 million), the number of news items mentioning AI in the headlines was 0.02%. This indicator has increased over nine years - from 0.0013% in 2010 to 0.0532% in 2019.
 </div>
 
 The technology was mentioned most often in 2019 (over 17.5 thousand times, 1.5 thousand times per month on average). It can be compared to the total number of AI references in media publications (not only in headlines, but in the texts also) which ICT.Moscow monitors within IT media trends monitoring. These dynamics also indicates a slight decline in the media’s interest in artificial intelligence compared to the previous year. 

 
 After Yandex’s data was processed, a ranking of top-20 cities which were most frequently mentioned in the AI news headlines was compiled.

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 The ranking cannot be considered absolute, as the number of mentions can vary upon the counting methods.

<h2>
 Moscow is the leader of the ranking
</h2>

 
 Moscow is leading by a significant margin: over one thousand mentions about the capital were found. Over half of all references in the context of artificial intelligence over ten years are from 2020, which is not over yet. The sharp increase in the number of mentions of Moscow happened against the background of overall decline in the number of references of this technology in the headlines.

 
 The main newsworthy event was the launch of experimental legal regulation in the field of AI: in different variations it was mentioned over 200 times. The other relatively frequently mentioned topics were:

<ul>
 <li>fighting COVID-19, first of all - diagnostics using AI in Moscow medical facilities;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.openculture.com/2020/03/watch-scenes-from-czarist-moscow-vividly-restored-with-artificial-intelligence-may-1896.html">video</a> of Moscow shot in 1896 and restored using a neural network</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>launch of a <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/projects/ai/">knowledge base</a> on artificial intelligence</li>
</ul>

<h2>
 Notable issues in other cities
</h2>

 
 Other Russian cities are less often but still quite frequently mentioned in the headlines of the news about AI. Saint Petersburg is the second most frequently mentioned city after Moscow, and over half of the mentions within the context of artificial intelligence are from 2019. The announcement about the opening of the national center for industrial artificial intelligence can be called the “news of the year” in the northern capital. The coffee shop where AI will be used to determine customer tastes was also mentioned quite often, as well as the establishment of Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

 
 The high position of Perm in the ranking was ensured by 2018 FIFA World Cup. When the event was being held, the news frequently featured predictions about the finalists and the winner of the competition. One of predictive AI models was developed in Perm University. As a result, the city was mentioned most frequently in the AI news headlines in 2018. However, a similar solution was presented by Perm scientists in 2013, in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics (nevertheless, the city was not mentioned in the title of the publication). 

 
 Kazan, where digital technologies are being actively developed and implemented, was ranked 7th and was mentioned in several dozen more publications than Tyumen, which was ranked 8th. It should be noted that Innopolis which is located near Kazan was counted separately, it was also included in top-20 and was ranked 12th. Like in the case of Moscow, the largest number of Innopolis mentions occurred in 2020. The main newsbreaks were a web series about AI called “The last program” shot in Innopolis, and (also like in Moscow) - the development of neural networks for COVID-19 diagnostics.

 
 Skolkovo Innovation Center, which is not a city but can be considered an independent significant toponym, was mentioned 77 times over the past ten years. It was firstly mentioned in 2010, when it was founded. Then ABBYY received Skolkovo grant for development in the field of artificial intelligence. Since 2014, the Center was mentioned almost every year (except 2015), initially within the context about AI conferences, and later - in connection with the establishment of the Center for artificial intelligence development and other practical developments (for fighting cancer, for instance).

<h2>
 Perception of the technology
</h2>

 
 The study of the materials about artificial intelligence which was most often spoken about only in the last three-four years (see the graph with the total number of AI mentions in headlines by year) made it possible to assess how the perception of the technology has changed over time. In the beginning of 2010s, “artificial intelligence” was not perceived as an IT tool, but as a description of the behavior of computer game programmed characters. From 2014-2015 such interpretation became less common.

 
 In 2010, the media audiences were not used to seeing artificial intelligence as a standard IT tool. It is evident from the publications in the major media sources where AI self learning was interpreted as an evolution of artificial intelligence by analogy with living organisms. The concept of self-driving transport also was not formed: such developments (of Google, for example) were called “vehicles with artificial intelligence”. Nevertheless, already in 2010 Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, spoke about the prospects of implementing intelligent systems in the urban environment. In particular, the Mayor proposed to implement them in the traffic management systems in order to reduce traffic jams.

 
 2013 can be called a turning point in the mass perception of artificial intelligence. In that year there was a more than two-fold increase in the number of publications about this technology. After that the dynamic of mentioning increased until 2018, when the growth decreased slightly.

 
 In 2013, artificial intelligence was practically no longer associated in the media with something fantastic, and was seen as a tool for fulfilling specific tasks, such as predicting the behavior of people at public events, recognition and processing of accounting documents, monitoring information from aircraft sensors, etc.

 
 Also, in 2013 people started talking about implementing AI in medicine: one of the most significant newsbreaks was the IBM Watson supercomputer, the artificial intelligence of which was used for treating cancer. At the same time, the publications about self-learning algorithms forecasting the emergence of dangerous strains which can cause a pandemic also appeared. 

<h2>
 Hype and corporations
</h2>

 
 Over the past 10 years, artificial intelligence technology has often been mentioned in the context of “hype” topics. It is well illustrated by the case of major sports events. The examples of neural networks developed in Perm were mentioned above in the text, but they are by no means the only ones. For example, during the 2018 World Cup, the artificial intelligence of Microsoft was also actively making forecasts.

 
 The AI references in headlines experienced the most rapid growth in 2016-2018, when the number of publications increased by 3-6 thousand per year (see graph). Just at this time, major players of the IT market were frequently mentioned in the news: Google (more than 600 publications in 2016 compared to around 250 in 2015), Sberbank (about 200 mentions in 2017), and Yandex itself (over 200 references in 2017).

 
 Thus, an increase in the number of references of the technology in news headlines is accompanied by an increase in the number of references of major IT players. Quite often the companies themselves created media hyping statements: a rock album recorded using a neural network for example, or the prospect of replacing thousands of Sberbank employees with artificial intelligence.

 
 By the way, the news about Sberbank dates back to 2016. In recent years, the company has recorded the fastest growth rate in terms of references in the context of artificial intelligence. In 2019, the bank overtook IT corporations on this indicator: it appeared in the headlines more than 500 times, whereas Google, which is usually leading, was mentioned only 350 times.

<hr />
 
 The analysis of news in the sphere of artificial intelligence over the past 10 years showed how much the perception of technology has changed during that time. Previously it was perceived as something fantastic, then it gradually became associated with an IT tool that can solve very specific tasks. And the understanding of AI as an analogue to the human mind started to be mentioned with the subscript “strong” (once in 2013 in a specialized IT publication, starting from 2016 - also in other sources).

 
 The dynamics convincingly demonstrates that various AI solutions in Russia have become firmly associated not only with hype topics, but also with cities. Most often - with Moscow, especially when it was announced that a legal experiment in the field of artificial intelligence was being launched locally. But other cities also make themselves known, regularly appearing in the headlines of the news about AI. It is not always about development: often about piloting, implementation, and practical use. The media usually covers these topics, meaning their target audience is interested in such issues.

An overview of AI mentions in news headlines in Russia since 2010.

ICT.Moscow

Research: the most notable in AI news headlines in Russia over the past 10 years

Russian Agricultural Bank is launching an identity verification service in all branch offices as a part of its biometric platform development. In November the bank will start to use facial recognition technology when the customer conducts settlement and cash transactions and operations involving bank deposits and safety deposit boxes.

 
 “Having developed a universal biometric platform, Russian Agricultural Bank ensured compliance with regulatory requirements for interaction with the Unified biometric system, implemented a remote identification mechanism, and also made possible the application of any biometric technology in its own products and processes”, - noted Yulia Demenyuk, Head of Retail business and remote services block of Russian Agricultural Bank. 

 
 According to the representatives of the company, they are also using the functionality of the bank’s biometric system for the creation of the bank’s own base and customers biometric verification in customer service operations in branch offices.

 
 The service also allows customers to request biometric verification for conducting transactions in excess of the established transaction limits.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/rosselkhozbank-zapuskaet-vo-vsekh-otdeleniiakh-servis-verifikatsii-lichnosti/">Original (in Russian)</a>

CRN/RE

Russian Agricultural Bank launches identity verification service in all branch offices

Yandex launched Yandex.Pro, a unified platform and an application for self-employed individuals. It helps people to find a part-time job, keep track of their income and pay taxes, VC.ru reports.

 
 Both private individuals and self-employed entrepreneurs can connect to the service. The platform is based on Yandex.Taximeter.

 
 Application users can find and fulfill orders in various spheres in the services of Yandex. You can register as a self-employed person in the application. The users can synchronize Yandex.pro with “Moi nalog” (“My tax”) app of the tax service, so that all necessary payments and tax payments are transferred automatically.

 
 Drivers and car couriers of Yandex.Taxi are already connected to Yandex.Pro. The company plans to connect Yandex.Eats and Yandex.Lavka couriers and the Yandex.Uslugi (Yandex.Services) masters and Yandex.Toloka’s task performers to the service.

 
 Download Yandex.Pro in <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.yandex.taximeter" target="_blank">Google Play</a> and <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1496904594" target="_blank">App Store</a>.

 
 According to the Federal Tax Service, as of August 1, there are approximately 900 thousand self-employed individuals in Russia.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-zapustil-edinuiu-platformu-i-prilozhenie-dlia-samozaniatykh/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

VC.ru

Yandex launched a unified platform and an application for self-employed 

‘Big Data Platform’ company (joint venture of VTB and Rostelecom) has developed and is currently implementing the first universal geoplatform in Russia based on the analysis of depersonalized data using machine learning methods. Data from banking sector, telecom and digital services is used for analysis.

 
 The platform allows to forecast demand, client flows and other factors to make decisions on the location of the retail outlets, offices, advertising objects, and also to evaluate the investment attractiveness of buildings and land plots. It is available in 50 cities in Russia.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/platforma-bolshikh-dannykh-vnedriaet-universalnuiu-ai-platformu-geoanalitiki/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Rostelecom

‘Big Data Platform’ introduces a universal AI-based geoanalytics platform

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation endorsed six projects within the framework of the special regulatory regimes that can be implemented. This information was reported by TASS with reference to Ivan Zimin, Director of the Department of Financial Technologies of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. “We have received more than 60 applications within the sandbox, the piloting of 11 projects has already been completed, 6 projects have been endorsed, and decisions on 5 projects have already been made”, - said Zimin. 

 
 The Central Bank of the Russian Federation launched the regulatory sandbox in 2018. It is a testbed with no customers and operations where the prototype is being tested, and all risks are assessed together with government authorities and the business community. When the testing and piloting of the project are completed, the Central Bank either endorses it and develops legal regulation, or does not endorse the project for reasons related to economic risks and operational and information security risks.

 
 According to Zimin, the projects that were received by the Central Bank are mostly focused on digital rights, distributed ledger technology, biometric technologies and data analytics.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/tsb-odobril-shest-proektov-reguliatornoi-pesochnitsy/">Original (in Russian)</a>

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation endorsed six projects of the regulatory sandbox

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Andrey Lipov, head of Roskomnadzor. They discussed the agency’s efforts to protect personal data.

 
 In particular, Lipov explained that there were a lot of problems in the field of processing personal data of the citizens. The agency estimates that there are about 5 million private companies processing personal data in Russia.

 
 Lipov proposed to extend the statute of limitations for cyber crimes to 1 year, to provide the legitimate authority to inspect the chain of data transmission from one processor to the next, to develop instrumental control over the processing of this data.

 
 In addition, according to Lipov, the state has the right to determine other countries that improperly process the personal data of citizens. He also offered "to think about clearer regulation" in the area of processing biometric data.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/glava-roskomnadzora-predlozhil-riad-mer-dlia-regulirovaniia-personalnykh-dannykh/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Head of Roskomnadzor proposed a number of measures for the regulation of personal data

The Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that a special cloud solution was being created to organize interaction with IT companies. It will be used as the main platform for working out measures of state support for the industry. This was reported by Kommersant with reference to information from an online meeting of the Deputy Prime Minister with representatives of IT industry.

 
 According to the sources mentioned in the publication, Bitrix24 company is developing the solution. The company did not confirm this information.

 
 During the meeting, industry representatives presented proposals for state support measures. They discussed subsidizing up to 50% of the cost of supplementary education in the field of digital competencies on commercial online platforms, as well as establishing an online support platform for schools based on public-private partnerships.

 
 Dmitry Chernyshenko gave the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and the relevant federal authorities a task to form a “road map” for the implementation of the proposed initiatives. 

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/v-rossii-sozdadut-oblachnoe-reshenie-dlia-vzaimodeistviia-s-it-otrasliu/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Kommersant

Russia will create a cloud solution for interactions with IT-industry

Inspector Cloud, developer of the system for goods recognition on store shelves, has raised $500 thousand. The investor is OKS Group Foundation, founded by Oleg Poliakov and Kirill Matveev. The funds will be used to enter the markets of Latin America and Europe.

 
 In 2017, the company raised $150 thousand, and a year after another $200 was raised to refine the product. According to the startup’s information, in 2019 Inspector Cloud’s revenue amounted to 33.87 million rubles. By the end of the first half of 2020, the revenue exceeded 37 million rubles.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/razrabotchik-sistemy-raspoznavaniia-tovarov-na-polkakh-magazinov-privlek-500-tysiach/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

RB.ru

Inspector Cloud, developer of the system for goods recognition in stores, raises $500 thousand to drive international expansion

Ozon together and Avtomir Group of Companies
are launching a platform for online sales of new cars. Ozon marketplace will
open a showcase, where the auto dealer will present 14 car brands, Kommersant
reports.

 
 According to the representatives of retailer’s
press service, that customers will be able to choose the model, configuration
and color and book the vehicle, and Avtomir will guarantee that the car is
available at the price indicated in the offer. At the initial stage, only new
cars will be sold in Moscow and the Moscow region, and then Ozon plans to
expand into new territories and add used cars.

 
 In April, Sberbank
launched its SberAuto online service for car sales, which allows to purchase
new and used cars.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/ozon-zapuskaet-onlain-prodazhu-novykh-avtomobilei/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Ozon launches online car trade

Leadership of Russia according to Coursera and Mirosoft estimates,
commercial prospects of self-driving vehicles and other topics of the month - ICT.Moscow collected the most significant AI-related news of July in one digest.

<hr />
 
 Success of the Russian AI

 
 In July, Coursera <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coursera.org/gsi?ranMID=40328&amp;ranEAID=a1LgFw09t88&amp;ranSiteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA&amp;siteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA">published</a>&nbsp;a ranking of countries by the level of
training of IT specialists in different spheres. Russia was ranked first in two
out of three categories - “Technologies” and “Data Science”. Analysts named
Russia the country with the most highly-qualified specialists in software
development and working with data.

 
 As a part of the Global Pilots program for supporting
Russian startups, Microsoft Corporation has chosen the most notable artificial
intelligence projects. Their authors managed to reach an agreement on pilot
projects, establish contacts with international suppliers, start negotiations
with investment funds and receive grants.

<hr />
 
 High efficiency in medicine

 
 At the beginning of July it became known that
artificial intelligence algorithms had had<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/over-150-thousand-radiology-images-were-processed-in-moscow-with-the-help-of-artificial-intelligence/"> processed</a> 150
thousand chest radiological scans in Moscow, mostly for diagnosing COVID-19. So
far, the technology has been available in 48
in-patient clinics and 193 polyclinics. At the beginning of the month it was announced that AI would process not only
CT scans, but also X-ray scans to diagnose other diseases. The service has been
connected to 17 Moscow medical facilities.

 
 Against this background, the level of trust to
the technology among patients is increasing. It is confirmed by studies
<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/50-of-muscovites-positively-rate-the-use-of-ai-in-medicine/">conducted</a> by the Diagnostics and Telemedicine Center of the Moscow Healthcare
Department. The results are as follows:

<ul>
 <li>50% of Moscow residents positively assess the application of
AI in medicine</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>80% of them called the use of the technology reasonable</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>70%&nbsp; claimed that the
quality of medical health had improved.</li>
</ul>

<hr />
 
 AI is becoming more deeply-rooted in call centers

 
 Mango Telecom, Russian business telephony operator expanded the application
of artificial intelligence in call centers and launched a speech analytics
module to control the work of operators and to find out how actively they
promote goods or services.

 
 Neuro.net estimates that
63% of all center workers expect that AI will partially replace people in their
professional sphere. 13% of people are sure that AI will fully replace them.

<hr />
 
 Commercial prospects of self-driving vehicles

 
 At the beginning of July journalists of “RIA Novosti” filmed the
testing of Yandex.Rover, the company's autonomous delivery robot. ICT.Moscow
talked to the team of Yandex Self Driving Cars, and found out that the company uses Rovers in the streets of
Moscow on a regular basis to collect data and train machine learning
algorithms.

 
 In an interview
with ICT.Moscow, a representative of Yandex described where and under what
conditions the first commercial vehicles, both Rovers and
cars, would be introducted. The company noted that a phased plan for the introduction of the unmanned
vehicles in Russia would be further
developed. It will be submitted to the president in
August.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 &nbsp; You can read the interview&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/an-interview-with-yandex-self-driving-dars-on-the-prospects-of-driverless-future/">here</a>
 </div>
 
 Other Russian companies are also developing self-driving transport. In mid-July, the unmanned truck “Kamaz” was launched on
the territory of the Innopolis University. In northern Russia, the testing of unmanned trucks continues: the
government of Ugra has signed an agreement with one of the oil-producing
enterprises about another experiment in this field.

 
 Also in July it became known about the plans of
the Russian Ministry of Transport and “Russian Railways” to test computer
vision technologies for unmanned trains at a virtual test site.

Leadership of Russia according to Coursera and Microsoft, continued government support for AI, other topics of the month.

Digest about AI in Russia: top news in July

In spring 2020 Yandex applied to register 17
trademarks in banking, investment and insurance. 

 
 The representatives of the company did not
announce the project launch date and
noted that Yandex “often registers trademarks or patents, but not all of them
will be applied in the future. It is standard practice in big IT companies”,
Vedomosti reports.

 
 According to Vedomosti, Yandex does not aim at
creating its own bank, and the company plans to launch a financial ecosystem.

 
 At the end of June,
Yandex and Sberbank officially announced the separation of joint assets -
Yandex.Market and Yandex.Money. The transaction was completed a month later.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-podal-zaiavki-na-tovarnye-znaki-v-bankovskoi-investitsionnoi-i-strakhovoi-sferakh/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Vedomosti

Yandex applied to register trademarks in banking, investment and insurance

The recommendation system will be based on “Rabota v Rossii” (“Jobs in
Russia”), an all-Russian base of job vacancies. The service will find suitable
jobs for job-seekers and select candidates for employers and employment
services. The tools for job market analysis considering its dynamics and
different types of employments will also be developed.

 
 To configure the system and improve the accuracy of recommendations, the
developers need user behaviour and search engine results datasets. Previously,
Rostrud did not use “Rabota v Rossii” to monitor employment, but now it is
already collecting feedback - the responses from job seekers, invitations from
employers and facts of getting a job and staff recruitment using the portal.

Rostrud creates a job placement system using AI

Yandex today&nbsp;announced&nbsp;it has expanded testing of its self-driving cars to Michigan. A fleet of Yandex’s driverless vehicles recently hit Ann Arbor city streets, including the company’s fourth-generation autonomous&nbsp;Hyundai Sonatas&nbsp;created in partnership with Hyundai Mobis.

 
 This will make Ann Arbor our third urban testing ground in addition to Moscow and Tel Aviv.&nbsp;

 
 Michigan has a very progressive and supportive regulatory environment for the development of self-driving cars. This allows for rapid development and advancement of the fleet in Ann Arbor. Unlike Moscow and Tel Aviv, where self-driving vehicles must always have engineers behind the wheel, in Ann Arbor more autonomy is allowed.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhqyrze30bk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div class="incut-block ">
 
 We are trying to use our testing locations to the fullest. For example, Innopolis is the only testing location in Russia that allows self-driving cars to transport passengers without regulations requiring that an engineer be present behind the driver’s wheel. This is where we launched Europe’s first robotaxi service two years ago and, since then, have made thousands of trips without a driver behind the wheel. Ann Arbor, with its bigger size and more progressive regulatory environment, will enable us to take this experience a step further.&nbsp;
 
 <div class="quote-owner">
 <div>
 
 Dmitry Polishchuk
 
 Head of Yandex Self-Driving Cars
 </div>
 </div>
</div>
 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/yandex-self-driving-car/yandex-expands-its-self-driving-testing-to-ann-arbor-michigan-e1fdbab17303">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

Yandex

Yandex begins testing self-driving cars in Michigan

MINDSMITH experts about current blockchain trends

MINDSMITH column: blockchain in the peak of summer

At the beginning of August, X5
Retail Group, leading multi-format retailer in Russia, completed the testing of smart waste bins, which are now being put into
commercial operation. The company plans to use the same sensors - the ones that
were installed in smart waste bins - at its other facilities, TAdviser reports.

 
 Smart waste bins were developed by GoodWAN, which introduces
the sensors that indicate the filling level, record the time when the bin is
completely filled and when it is emptied and sends signals when the temperature
in the bin rises.

 
 The representatives of X5 explain, that the information from sensors is
transmitted over a radio channel in the license-free 868 MHz band. The data
collection system generates reports and provides data on the fill level and the
maintenance of bins, and also shows the updated information on the map.

 
 It is also reported that GoodWAN developed a new
version of the sensor based on an ultra-high frequency radar, which shows fill
level in percentage. The system uses the information about the waste bins
volume and automatically calculates the amount of trash removed. 

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/x5-retail-group-zavershila-pilot-po-ispolzovaniiu-umnykh-musornykh-bakov-s-datchikami-napolneniia-i-temperatury/">Original (in Russian)</a>

TAdviser

X5 Retail Group completes the pilot project on using smart waste bins with fill-level and temperature sensors

VTB will open an office, where clients’ identity can be verified using smartphones.

 
 It will be possible to book an appointment at the bank using a chatbot in WhatsApp. The company will identify clients using the phone’s MAC address and send customers the instructions via WhatsApp and will help the client find the right desk or room.

 
 To be identified using a smartphone, the client has to be initially registered in the office, so that the smartphone of the client identifies VTB wi-fi as a home network. The customer gets a notification about the services in the bank office. If the client has a scheduled appointment, the system will automatically activate it.

 
 By 2021, the bank plans to open all offices in the new format.

 
 In June, Alfa Bank opened a “bank office of the future” equipped with biometric system that identifies clients at the entrance.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/vtb-otkroet-v-moskve-ofis-s-identifikatsiei-posetitelei-po-smartfonu/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

VTB opens an office where customers’ identity will be verified using smartphones

According to Sergey
Popov, Director of Sberbank’s transaction business, the company may issue
tokens that can be used for settlements involving digital financial assets,
Prime reports.

<div class="incut-block ">
 
 This subject is very interesting for the bank. Probably, we can issue a stablecoin that we can peg to the ruble in accordance with the law that has been adopted recently, and it will become a basis, a tool for settlements involving other digital financial assets.
 
 <div class="quote-owner">
 <div>
 
 Sergey Popov
 
 Director of the Transaction Business Division of Sberbank
 </div>
 </div>
</div>
 
 Popov told reporters the details during an online discussion “Digital
financial assets in practice”. The representatives of the bank’s press service
told RIA Novosti that the decision on the issuance of tokens would be made
soon.

 
 At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law that
allows digital financial assets transactions, but prohibits to use
cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in Russia starting from January 1, 2021.


 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-mozhet-vypustit-token-dlia-raschetov-za-tsifrovye-finansovye-aktivy/">Original (in Russian)</a>

PRIME

Sberbank may issue tokens for settlements involving digital financial assets

Biotech startup Gero has
raised $2.2 million. The lead investor is Yury Melnichek’s Bulba Ventures
venture fund. Melnichek joined Gero’s Board of Directors. The other investors
are serial entrepreneurs in pharmaceuticals industry, IT and artificial
intelligence.<a></a>

 
 The total amount of investment
raised since Gero’s founding is $7.5 million. The company will use the
investment to develop its AI-based platform for analyzing clinical and genetic
data and to find treatments for chronic aging-related diseases, mental
illnesses and other diseases.<a></a>

 
 Gero.ai uses big data, machine learning and methods of physics to
develop new drugs and create algorithms for age risk assessment. Startup’s
platform is currently trying to identify potential therapies for COVID-19. <a></a>

 
 In May, AI Venture Labs&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=0LWyKq8YoEqQEMtp0Me5L28Ll1u1xJRJrDst9QcAzx1UOTNUUUxDM1BNQzRVNVpUOTdaTk5ENEIxSi4u&amp;fbclid=IwAR3qtu1bUoCHoMzLe-ABlitcizOzbZSi-lOF5Xfb9ycmhe7CzM1uKuhbiao">included</a> Gero in top 100 AI startups, the developments of which can be used to
fight COVID-19.<a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/card/gero/">Gero</a> card on ICT.Moscow<a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/biotekh-startap-gero-privlek-2-2-mln/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a>

Tech in Asia

Russian biotech startup Gero has raised $2.2 million investment

In 2020, Moscow ranked
18th in the Tholons Services Globalization Index of city digital
transformation. In one year, the Russian capital has moved up 5 places in the
ranking.

 
 The leaders are Bangalore, Sao
Paulo and Toronto.

 
 The cities were assessed according
to 5 groups of indicators: Talent, Skill &amp; Quality, Business Catalyst, Cost
&amp; Infrastructure, Risk &amp; Quality of Life, Innovation/Digital.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://tholons.com/tholons-services-globalization-index/">Check Services Globalization Index</a>

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/6c6f1fb7-1795-5b69-a1a8-3395db04f19a.png">
</div>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/moskva-zaniala-18-e-mesto-v-reitinge-tsifrovoi-transformatsii-gorodov/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Moscow ranked 18th in the city digital transformation ranking

The Banker (part of Financial
Times Group) has recognized Sberbank as the best bank in Central and Eastern
Europe in digital banking innovation.

 
 The bank became the winner of
the Innovation in Digital Banking Awards 2020 in Best Bank in Central and
Eastern Europe for Innovation in Digital Banking category. Sberbank received
the award for its three projects: biometric scanners in ATMs, BRIS Utilities
Billing Platform and algorithmic orders on the Sberbank Markets platform.

 
 Biometric facial recognition
technology allows clients to use self-service devices, make payments and
transfer money, withdraw and deposit money without a card, smartphone or any document.

 
 BRIS Utilities billing
platform allows to calculate charges for utilities, generate bills for
customers, including in electronic form, automate payments processing and
further settlements with contractors.

 
 Robotic algorithms - algorithmic orders - are available to the customers
of the Sberbank Markets platform to make FX transactions. Such orders help to
increase automation, control and transparency of the FX position sizing.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-priznan-luchshim-bankom-tsentralnoi-i-vostochnoi-evropy-po-innovatsiiam-v-tsifrovom-bankinge/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Sberbank

Sberbank was named the best bank of Central and Eastern Europe for innovation in digital banking

According to TelecomDaily, the number of broadband Internet subscribers in Russia has grown by
290 thousand in the second quarter of 2020 and reached 33.79 million subscribers. The
growth in the number of new contracts in the first quarter in relation to the
the end of 2019 is 0.5%, and the growth in the second quarter in relation to
the first quarter is 0.9%.

 
 Rostelecom holds 36% of the
market, ER-Telecom and MTS hold 11% each, Beeline - 8%, TTK - 6%, other
broadband providers together hold 28% of the market.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/issledovanie-kolichestvo-abonentov-platnogo-tv-v-rossii-dostiglo-44-332-mln/">Original (in Russian)</a>

TelecomDaily

The number of broadband subscribers in Russia has grown by 290 thousand in the second quarter of 2020

On July
31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law “On digital financial
assets”. The document, the draft of which was adopted by the State Duma in the
first reading in 2018, introduces the concept of “digital financial assets” and
“digital currencies”, regulates cryptocurrencies and allows cryptocurrency
transactions, but prohibits to use it as a means of payment in Russia.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/prezident-rf-podpisal-zakon-o-tsifrovykh-finansovykh-aktivakh/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Market in Brief