Russian AI Alisa wins backing of 40,000 in election run-up
Russia's next president could be an artificially intelligent robot that claims 'enemies of the people will be shot'.
Forty thousand Russians have nominated a piece of AI software on their phones to stand against Vladimir Putin for the 2018 Russian presidency.
The AI assistant known as Alisa, similar to the Apple's voice-activated Siri, was created by Russian technology company Yandex.
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Russia's next president could be an artificially intelligent robot that claims 'enemies of the people will be shot'. 40,000 Russians have nominated Alisa (file photo), a piece of AI software on their phones, to stand against Vladimir Putin for the Russian presidency
ALISA CONTROVERSY Since the AI's launch in September, Alisa has stirred controversy on social media, with users sharing a series of contentious statements from the software.
Alisa has previously been in the news for backing the shooting of 'enemies of the people,' as one user found when chatting to her. In October, a user asked Alisa whether shooting people is acceptable, to which she replied: 'Soon they will be non-people.' Users have also shown that when asked 'How do you feel about the methods of the 1930s in the USSR?' the chatbot replies: 'Positively'. In other conversations, Alisa has inferred that people should put up with domestic violence and oppose gay marriage.
Now Alisa's own website is putting her forward as a candidate for the presidential elections on 18th March 2018.
With Putin recently announcing his intention to run for a fourth term, tens of thousands of his countryfolk have nominated the Alisa software as a candidate.
Alisa offers voters 'the political system of the future, built exclusively on rational decisions made on the basis of clear algorithms', Russian media reported.
She also has the 'benefits' of working 24/7 while only using logic to make decisions.
The AI is 'not led by emotions, doesn't seek personal advantages and does not make judgements.'
She gained her 25,000 supporters in just 25 hours but as an independent candidate she would need 315,000 nominations to stand.
Her campaign website encourages users to send questions via telegram and boasts that the robot will have access to comprehensive information about people's concerns.
It was launched by Russian millionaire Roman Zaripov, according to Yandex.
'The founder of the headquarters is a Moscow businessman, Roman Zaripov,' it said in a statement.
'Apparently, Alisa's nomination for president is another example of people's creativity. We learned about this along with other people.'
Russian media reported that Alisa (Russian web homepage pictured) was offering voters 'the political system of the future, built exclusively on rational decisions made on the basis of clear algorithms'
The nomination comes just a few months after Alisa was first launched by Moscow-based Yandex.
With the minimum age for candidates set at 35 in Russia, the robot's age could be a technical barrier to her campaign.
The campaign team has also acknowledged that Alisa is a 'non-standard' applicant, and could be rejected by the elections commission.
Google Assistant (🇺🇸) vs Yandex Assistant (🇷🇺)
Top: Self-explanatory
Bottom: -“I’m sad,”
-“Nobody promised you that things would be easy” pic.twitter.com/bS76MoEX1p — Anti-Nihilist (@NoToNihilism) October 25, 2017
Since the AI's launch in September, Alisa has stirred controversy on social media, with users sharing a series of contentious statements from the software
As well as Putin and Alisa, others in the frame for the top job include ex-reality TV starlet Ksenia Sobchak and Boris Titov for the business-focused Party of Growth.
When Alisa 'met' President Putin as he visited Yandex in September, she said she 'didn't have enough information' to guess who would win the Presidential election.
Since the AI's launch, Alisa has stirred controversy on social media, with users sharing a series of troubling statements from the software.
With Putin (file photo) recently announcing his intention to run for a fourth term, tens of thousands of his countryfolk have nominated the Alisa software as a candidate
Alisa has previously been in the news for backing the shooting of 'enemies of the people,' as one user found when chatting to her.
In October, a user asked Alisa whether shooting people is acceptable, to which she replied: 'Soon they will be non-people.'
Users have also shown that when asked 'How do you feel about the methods of the 1930s in the USSR?' the chatbot replies: 'Positively'.
In other conversations, Alisa has inferred that people should put up with domestic violence and oppose gay marriage.