Russia has denied reports that it is investing in AI technology that would allow humans to control cars, planes and nuclear power plants through microchips implanted into their brains.
The Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday the government plans to spend 54 billion rubles ($740 million) on the brain-computer interface project as part of Russia’s massive science, healthcare and infrastructure spending plan.
President Vladimir Putin reportedly personally approved the federal program, part of which envisions research into controlling devices with electrical signals from the brain sent to implanted computer chips, in March.
Russia’s Science and Higher Education Ministry reportedly said the “Brain, Health, Intellect, Innovation for 2021-2029” program, devised by the Russian Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Moscow State University, is in early stages of development.
But later Tuesday its press service denied that it was working on brain chip implants, saying the program had been ruled “unfeasible” in 2020.
The Kremlin said Tuesday it was unaware of any federal program that explores implanting microchips into human brains.
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