AI could be the new nuclear power, says top Russian banker
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy CEO of Sberbank, believes AI could give countries "nuclear-like influence."
He states there's a new global "nuclear club," where having your own national large language model (LLM) is crucial—and not having one poses a risk.
For Russia, he emphasized that building homegrown AI is essential for security and warned that sharing sensitive data with foreign models is off-limits.
He also admitted Russia trails the US and China in AI by several months because of sanctions.
Why Vedyakhin wants to avoid an 'AI bubble'
Vedyakhin cautioned against getting swept up in the hype around massive spending on AI infrastructure.
He feels Russia's more cautious investment style helps avoid an "AI bubble."
Sberbank's own GigaChat models, he claims, are nearly on par with ChatGPT 4.0 and 5.0—and some might even go open-source for businesses soon.
Vedyakhin's track record with bold predictions
This isn't his first warning—Vedyakhin has previously flagged risks like Russia's economy "overcooling" from high interest rates and relying too much on foreign tech.
His GDP growth forecast for 2025 (1-2%) is lower than what officials predict, showing he tends to take a more cautious view than most.