Russia Develops an AI Based on Orthodox Christian Values: Here's What It Will Learn.

Initiative for an Orthodox AI

According to TSN.ua: Russian elites are spearheading the development of an artificial intelligence grounded in traditional Orthodox Christian spiritual values, positioning it as a necessary counter to the perceived risks of Western AI models. This project has garnered support from the World Russian People's Council, alongside prominent Russian business figures and church leaders. Mikhail Ivanov, the deputy head of the council, emphasized that Russia requires its own technology with clear moral and spiritual guidelines to act as a safe conduit to vetted sources of knowledge.

Perspectives on AI and Its Challenges

Konstantin Malofeev, a key supporter, has proposed training the AI on a curated list of foundational texts, including:

• The Gospels
• Domostroy (a 16th-century Russian domestic code)
• The works of Fyodor Dostoevsky
• The works of Alexander Pushkin
• The works of Mikhail Lomonosov
• The works of Ivan Ilyin
• The works of Alexander Dugin

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has expressed a grave view of the technology, stating that artificial intelligence poses a greater danger than nuclear energy, highlighting the profound societal challenges its development presents.

Criticism of Western technology has been a central theme. President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Western AI models exhibit Russophobia, a claim used to justify the need for a domestic alternative. According to Stanford University's AI Index, Russia currently ranks 28th out of 36 countries in terms of its AI ecosystem development, indicating a significant gap it aims to close. This move reflects a broader geopolitical and cultural strategy to assert technological sovereignty.

Consequently, the Orthodox AI initiative underscores Russia's ambition to cultivate technologies aligned with its specific spiritual and moral framework while seeking to diminish the influence of Western digital models. The effort highlights a desire among Russian leadership to forge an alternative to technologies they deem not only inadequate but also hostile. However, building a competitive AI based primarily on traditional values presents a complex challenge for technological innovation in a field that demands rapid adaptation and cutting-edge research.