World Special AI can be good or bad: Putin says countries that master it first will dominate

Russian President Vladimir Putin said artificial intelligence has created a new battlefield – where data, not territory, dictates influence. Whoever commands the largest dataset will command how people understand the world.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with India TodayPutin said AI has the potential for both progress and harm, depending on how governments control its use. The Russian president also warned that concentrated control over data gives unprecedented power to influence society.

Putin said AI should be viewed like any major technological breakthrough – capable of delivering extraordinary benefits but equally capable of bringing new risks.

He said, “You know, like any other achievement of progress, it can be both good and bad.” Calling AI a “cross-cutting technology”, he said its application will soon impact the daily lives of common people.

He said countries that succeed in developing and deploying AI “most effectively” will gain a strategic advantage. He said, “Those who will be the first to master this technology…will get tremendous benefits in the economy, in the social sector, in defence, as well as in every sector – in education, in science, in healthcare, everywhere.”

How data shapes perception and power

Putin also issued a stark warning about the risks of building AI on vast pools of personal data. The main challenge, he said, is that modern AI systems depend on processing huge datasets – including information on individuals.

He said, “People’s personal data also comes here.” He said that governments must ensure “security and protection to guarantee human rights in the broadest sense of the word”.

“People who have these databases…through the opportunities of these technologies, they can create a worldview,” he said. Putin warned that such influence extends beyond privacy concerns to the ability to shape public opinion and manipulate perceptions on a large scale.