On November 5th, Caixin News Agency reported that Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Director of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, stated that artificial intelligence (AI) can help Russia improve productivity and address the challenges posed by population decline.

At the "Creating the Future" international seminar held in Moscow on Monday, Oleshkin pointed out that new technologies are entering various sectors of the economy and driving global economic growth.

He said, "Artificial intelligence is our future, and it will increasingly penetrate into many areas of our lives. It will become a major driving factor for global economic growth, especially in the context of demographic changes being experienced in Russia and around the world

This year, Russia's birth rate is the lowest in 25 years, with only 599600 babies born in the first half of the year. According to official statistics, Russia's fertility rate last year was 1.41, the lowest level in 17 years.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernysheva previously warned that Russia is facing a "terrible" population crisis, which will lead to a severe shortage of labor in Russia, with a potential gap of 2.4 million by 2030.

In response to the population crisis, the Russian parliament is drafting a law that will prohibit propaganda that authorities consider harmful and promotes a "childless lifestyle", and impose heavy penalties on entities involved in such propaganda.

Earlier this year, Putin reiterated in his State of the Union address that Russia is a fortress of "traditional values" and is engaged in a life and death struggle against the "decadent West". He has repeatedly mentioned that 'a family of three children should become the standard in Russia', stating that this will help safeguard Russia's future.

At the same time, due to the conflict between Russia-Ukraine conflict, the death toll in Russia in the first half of the year also increased significantly year on year. Recent research indicates that various sectors of the Russian economy are facing severe labor shortages this year.

According to a report by the Atlantic Council, as of the end of 2023, over 300000 Russian military personnel have been injured or killed; If the continuous downward trend of population cannot be reversed, the population of the country may be reduced by half by the end of this century.

Oleshkin stated that a potential solution to the population problem is to improve efficiency and productivity, including through automation and the use of artificial intelligence tools.

He explained, "One solution to the personnel shortage problem facing Russia is artificial intelligence technology." He pointed out that by using artificial intelligence technology, Russia can achieve faster growth, not by increasing the number of employees, but by improving efficiency and productivity.

Previously, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak listed the development of robotics and artificial intelligence as one of the main factors driving Russia's long-term economic growth. He believes that these technologies should be applied to all industries, which will improve the country's labor productivity.

(Caixin News Agency, Niu Zhanlin)