A tech giant from Russia

The global banking system is a patchy phenomenon which varies greatly from one country to another, from the traditional, unwieldy banks of Europe to the cutting-edge financial institutions of South Africa. And the Republic of South Africa is, in this sense, in “good company” as a member of the international Brics alliance.

In this connection, it is interesting to examine the innovative approach being taken in Russia to the subject of banking and managing finances. As this is a very broad topic, we shall focus on the example of Sberbank, which has long been driving the Russian and international market as both a reliable financial institution and a major tech company.

Sber was founded almost 200 years ago and is now at the forefront of the banking industry in eastern Europe in terms of digitalisation and business process innovation. Trusted by more than 112 million customers, the company provides convenient services and innovative solutions in the financial and non-financial sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), education, cyber security, medicine, biometry and others. Its products are also popular amongst foreign partners.

Sber has a strong focus on R&D, science and innovation, devoting special attention to the development of AI technologies, which have already been deployed in 85% of the company’s processes, such as lending, scoring, customer service and security.

In the view of Herman Gref, Sber’s CEO, AI is rapidly changing the world, whole sectors of the economy, and many spheres of human activity. The speed and direction of this change will be determined largely by technology. The key challenge is to place AI at the service of man, as in a few years’ time every family will be using it.

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The financial impact of artificial intelligence at Sber is expected to exceed $5bn this year, and the company is confident that the deployment of AI technologies is helping to fashion a human-centric economy.

Sber’s goal is to automate most of its decision making on the basis of AI, leaving human workers to create the most complex products and satisfy specific customer requirements. 

Sber’s speakers always stress that AI must become a personal assistant to human beings, relieving specialists of the need to perform routine tasks and creating room for strategic planning and creativity.

Incidentally, on the subject of creativity, Sber has developed its own generative model, named Kandinsky after the famous Russian artist and art theorist. This neural network can create images and videos in various styles from text prompts and is absolutely free of charge.

Russian Big Tech is also developing a challenger to ChatGPT – an entirely Russian-made AI model called GigaChat, which was introduced last year. GigaChat is currently being used by millions of people and thousands of companies.

A characteristic feature of the Russian high tech agenda is that hardly a single new development in AI and machine learning goes without Sber’s involvement. The company sees progress in AI as a tool for boosting human potential, which can be expanded through sensible and ethical use of neural networks.

Incidentally, the ethics of “communication” between man and machine is not just a popular sci-fi topic – it’s also a hyper-topical issue: with Sber’s participation, the Artificial Intelligence Alliance has drawn up its own code of ethics, which has so far been signed by 380 companies, including 27 foreign players from 20 countries, one of which is South Africa.

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There are many other points of contact between Russia and South Africa in the ESG agenda. Both countries signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016, with South Africa aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and Russia by 2060. Russia and South Africa are also working closely on the sustainable development track within Brics.

For example, at an international session devoted to global challenges in the Brics green agenda, held on Sber’s initiative during the 8^th Eastern Economic Forum, Percy Morapedi Koji, cofounder, chairman and president of the Africa Economic Leadership Council, said that sustainable development is achievable in Africa if correctly managed, with South Africa focusing on sustainable agricultural practices.  

Russia too is interested in ESG collaboration. Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the Sberbank executive board, notes that amongst the AI-based services under development in Sber are some unique models for forecasting typhoons and climate risks, as well as detecting and identifying animals. The company is considering the possibility of using them to create solutions for integration into Russian domestic and international ESG projects.

Russian scientists together with researchers from Sber have recently proposed an integrated AI approach for forecasting drought over periods of between several months and a year. Amongst other things, these types of forecasts will be useful for agricultural enterprises in South Africa.

To unite their efforts, the countries of the Alliance need to set up a unified centre for developing joint solutions and implementing projects.

This role could be performed by the Brics Climate Council, which Sber proposed setting up at COP28 (United Nations Climate Change Conference), generating positive feedback from the Alliance delegations. According to Vedyakhin, the goal is to create a mechanism for co-operation in the green economy at the supranational level.

Another key focus area could be joint development of green innovations based on the principle of technological neutrality. Experts note that as an ambassador of the ESG track on the domestic market, Sber could also become a centre of expertise for partners in the Brics countries.

This year, during Russia’s presidency of the Brics alliance, Sber is also supporting efforts to create a Brics Artificial Intelligence Alliance. Its goal will be to consolidate the potential of the Brics countries and other friendly states for drawing up common approaches towards regulating AI and responding to challenges in the development of these technologies. Promising areas of AI collaboration include science, education, regulation and ethics.

Given the fast-changing nature of the international situation, friendly countries must continue seeking new formats for implementing ESG initiatives and technological collaboration.

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