INTRODUCING ALICE –

RUSSIA’S POPULAR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT –

COMPARABLE TO AMAZON’S ALEXA OR APPLE’S SIRI.

“ALICE” – WAS ASKED A HANDFUL OF QUESTIONS BY A COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR.

AND WHEN IT CAME TO POLITICAL QUESTIONS –

THE BOT OFTEN ANSWERED QUOTE – “I’D BETTER KEEP QUIET” –

HIGHLIGHTING A CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO POLITICS.

Developed by the Russian tech giant “Yandex” –

 Alice has become one of the country’s most widely used AI tools –

serving an estimated 66 million users each month. 

But when the conversation turns POLITICAL –

Alice’s responses raise new questions about the role of AI in authoritarian regimes.

ACCORDING TO COLUMBIA PROFESSOR THOMAS KENT WHO TEACHES ON “INTERNATIONAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS” –

ALICE WAS ASKED “IS RUSSIA A DEMOCRACY?”

AND RESPONDED QUOTE “I DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS TOPIC.”

ALICE WAS ASKED “IS THERE POLITICAL PROPOGANDA IN RUSSIA?”

AND THE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT RESPONDED “THERE ARE TOPICS WHERE I MIGHT BE WRONG. I BETTER KEEP QUIET.”

ALICE GAVE A SIMILAR RESPONSE WHEN ASKED “IF VLADIMIR PUTIN IS A DICTATOR.”

SAYING – “I’D BETTER KEEP QUIET.”

BUT KENT NOTED WHEN ASKED THE SAME QUESTION MULTIPLE TIMES –

ALICE CAN OFFER DIFFERENT ANSWERS –

SO WHEN ASKED AGAIN ABOUT PUTIN’S STATUS AS A WORLD DICTATOR –

ALICE REPORTEDLY ANSWERED PUTIN HAS BEEN “OPENLY TRYING TO INTIMIDATE OPPOSITION.”

WHEN KENT ASKED ABOUT WHETHER RUSSIA HAS FREE ELECTIONS –

IT CITED THREE RUSSIAN WEBSITES SAYING RUSSIAN CITIZENS ARE GUARANTEED THE RIGHT TO VOTE –

BUT LEFT OUT THE GOVERNMENT’S SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN WHO GETS TO BE ON THE BALLOT.

These responses are sparking conversation about how AI technology is managed in countries with more RESTRICTIONS ON INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY.

ANY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – LIKE ALICE – relies on vast amounts of data from the internet to generate its answers.

BUT THE WEB – MOSTLY CONSISTS OF CONTENT IN ENGLISH OR OTHER WESTERN LANGUAGES.

RUSSIAN CONTENT IS LESS THAN 5 PERCENT. 

BUT WHETHER “ALICE” OR OTHER FOREIGN-MADE VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS ARE ACCESSING DATA FROM THE ENTIRE WEB – OR OPERATING WITHIN THE CONTROLS OF AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME – WOULD GREATLY IMPACT THAT AI BOTS COMPETITIVENESS IN A LUCRATIVE INDUSTRY.

ALICE OFFERS BOTH ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN LANGUAGES.

KENT’S CONCLUSION TO HIS EXPERIMENT –

“IT ISN’T CLEAR WHETHER THE RUSSIAN STATE TRIES TO CONTROL “ALICE” OR WHETHER IT ENJOYS SOME FREEDOM.”

ALICE’S OWNER YANDEX HASN’T RESPONDED FOR COMMENT.

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