Vladimir Putin, during a visit to Novosibirsk in south-central Russia, told young scientists and students that he has never been afraid of anything, after being asked about the threat posed by artificial intelligence.
Putin's defiant response on AI
In a conversation with the next generation of scientists, Putin asked one young person: 'What kind of threat does artificial intelligence pose to us?' The young scientist replied: 'I'll be honest with you, you've got nothing to be afraid of.' Putin then said: 'And I've never been afraid of anything.'
He also suggested that AI could turn people's brains into mush and divide people into the intellectual elite and those who press the buttons without thinking, according to First Post. The 73-year-old said: 'And their grey matter gradually shrinks, like shagreen leather. Boom-boom, press the buttons, and everything pops out.'
Popularity and public appearances
Putin, whose domestic popularity has been in freefall, has been touring the vast country in an apparent attempt to claw some of it back. He has shown his face in Tatarstan, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Buryatia, Omsk, and Irkutsk in recent months. His absence from public in the spring raised questions about his health and whereabouts after he was not seen for more than two weeks after Easter. At the annual Victory Day parade in May, the president appeared with a puffy face and swollen cheeks, prompting questions about his wellbeing.
Drone strike and war spillover
In a further blow to Putin, a Ukrainian drone managed to slip through defences and deep inside Russia on Monday night. The drone struck more than 680 miles from the border in the Tatarstan region, killing at least 13 people. Attacks inside Russia stemming from its war against Ukraine spill the conflict deeper onto Putin's doorstep, risking his popularity even further as the country's citizens are subjected to the horrors of the fighting.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News that Putin aims to mobilise up to 500,000 soldiers after the Russian parliamentary elections in September. Zelensky said: 'He wants to increase mobilisation. Not openly, because he is afraid of his society, but he will do it at the beginning of October, if we don't cause him problems with logistics, weapons, petrol, diesel, and if our partners don't impose total sanctions for his aggression. It will be a big problem because he will aim to mobilise from 300,000 to 500,000 people. It's not that difficult for him to mobilise this number. He will have internal questions about it, because his society is – and I saw the polls – against mobilisation.'
