This report is the fruit of an intellectual collaboration among a group of young authors from Russia and China, brought together by their shared participation in the Valdai Discussion Club—Next Generation programme in 2024–2025. It seeks to offer the most comprehensive picture of artificial intelligence (AI) as a contemporary international phenomenon—simultaneously pervasive and yet not fully understood. It is pervasive, because AI now touches every sphere of social and economic life, shaping the power capabilities of states, influencing the content of decisions, and informing their practical implementation.
But at the same time, the phenomenon is not fully understood because, as often happens with technological advances, AI is constantly changing and improving. Understanding the dynamics of these changes and their connection to international politics is also an important part of the research objective. The report owes its creation to the energy and enthusiasm of Anna Sytnik, its lead author and organizer, Associate Professor at St. Petersburg State University and a graduate of the Valdai—New Generation programme.
The report in no way claims to offer an exhaustive explanation of how AI features in contemporary international affairs, influences the power capabilities of states, or shapes their actions. Nevertheless, by examining several aspects of AI’s impact on the overall power potential of states, the authors have identified a number of key points that hold both theoretical and practical significance for those seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. Another important advantage is that, unlike virtually all other publications currently available on such a politically and commercially consequential issue, this report is not a product of corporate or state propaganda.
On the contrary, it is academically neutral and strives to search for elusive truths at a time when the human mind is increasingly deprived of the ability to think independently, even on the most fundamental questions. In this sense, the authors have succeeded in creating one of the most reliable and intellectually precise depictions of a highly complex and multifaceted phenomenon spanning global politics, economics, and the information environment. Moreover, they have identified avenues for further research and expert discussion of this phenomenon. The report thus stands as the first work in Russian and international expert discourse whose goal has been not only to provide answers to a number of fundamental questions but also to empower the expert community to engage with such a comprehensive topic.
