Russia might restrict foreign AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, in a bid to promote sovereign internet push, as per new AI rules proposed by its Ministry for Digital Development.

Under the newly proposed legislation, Russia has emphasized sovereign and national AI models that are fully created in Russia, trained on Russian data.

The usage of foreign AI tools in critical industries- medicine, critical infrastructure and public administration will be restricted.

The draft regulatory legal act titled ‘On the fundamentals of state regulation of the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the Russian Federation’ was released by the concerned ministry on March 18. 

Aimed at “creating conditions for the development and implementation of domestic AI models” the bill lays down the regulatory framework for the use of technology by businesses in the country.

The bill has also defined ‘artificial intelligence’ for the first time in Russia- as technologies that imitate human cognitive functions, including self-learning without a predetermined algorithm. The bill introduces several provisions for developers and businesses concerning AI.

“The developer of an artificial intelligence model is obliged to ensure the security of the created model, including: a) the exclusion of functional features that could lead to discrimination based on their behavior or personal characteristics; b) the implementation of mechanisms limiting the possibility of creating, using an artificial intelligence model, information material that contradicts the legislation of the Russian federation,” read an excerpt from the bill.

The bill also introduces mandatory labelling of AI generated content and allows users to opt-out of AI services and choose human services instead.

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