The key facts
- Fadeyev: the volume of data collected about people exceeds the KGB's capabilities, and the cost of surveillance is minimal
- Putin earlier stated that Russia possesses all the elements of digital sovereignty
Surveillance as a reality, not a hypothesis
A human being is incomparably more complex than any machine and cannot become its application — this was stated in an interview with RT by Valery Fadeyev, head of the Human Rights Council, commenting on digitalization and the development of artificial intelligence. At the same time, he does not deny the risks of these processes: in his words, surveillance and manipulation are not a hypothesis but a reality. Fadeyev noted that so much information has been collected about each person that the KGB 'could not even have imagined' it, and it costs 'next to nothing'.
Putin's statement on digital sovereignty
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia possesses all the elements of digital sovereignty. According to him, in a number of areas foreign competitors have to catch up with the country and copy its developments. Putin also said that Russia has everything necessary for the development of AI. Thus, the two public statements on the same topic differ in emphasis: the head of state stresses technological self-sufficiency, while the head of the Human Rights Council points to the risks of data collection and manipulation in digitalization.
