en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Russian Federation State Duma (Госдума РФ) has officially approved the draft law "On Supporting the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in the Russian Federation" in its second and third readings. The bill, which completed subsequent deliberations just one day after passing its first reading, incorporates the basic definition of artificial intelligence (AI) into the Russian legislative system, aiming to create conditions for the priority development of domestic AI technologies.

The bill defines regulatory principles related to large foundational AI models and clarifies the powers of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government, federal executive authorities, other state bodies, state corporations, and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the application of large foundational AI models. The bill also introduces categories such as sovereign and national AI models, imposing data processing localization requirements on relevant models, meaning they must be completed within the territory of the Russian Federation with the participation of Russian legal entities. It also outlines support measures for AI model developers, including access to data necessary for model training.

Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin (Вячеслав Володин) emphasized that the bill is of a framework nature. The Government of the Russian Federation will be responsible for developing the specific subordinate regulations required for its implementation. Volodin stated that the State Duma will retain oversight powers and plans to return to reviewing the main provisions of the bill before the end of the year.

The law was passed by a majority vote, but the "A Just Russia" party (Справедливая Россия) abstained during the third reading. Dmitry Gusev (Дмитрий Гусев), First Deputy Head of the faction, stated that the faction supports the conceptual approach to regulating AI, which requires a framework law followed by sectoral regulation, and is prepared to support the government in taking over regulatory matters. The faction has prepared amendments to help the government translate the framework law into specific regulations. Artem Prokofiev (Артем Прокофьев), a deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (КПРФ), commented that developing domestic AI models is fundamental to technological sovereignty, given the risk of disconnection from foreign AI models, but expressed hope that the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Минцифры) would avoid overly aggressive regulatory approaches. Boris Chernyshov (Борис Чернышов), a deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party (ЛДПР), suggested that to promote AI development, an expert council involving the business community should be formed within the State Duma to ensure all companies have a voice on issues related to realizing AI potential. Konstantin Renzyaev (Константин Рензяев), General Director of CorpSoft24 (АО "Корп Софт") and a business representative, emphasized that in addition to legislation and government regulation, enhancing the AI capabilities and knowledge of the business community, along with professional training, is equally crucial.