State Duma Creates New AI Oversight Committee

Russia’s State Duma is establishing a new committee to regulate artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and drone development, officials announced on Thursday. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, confirmed the formation of the Committee on Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence during a United Russia party leadership meeting.

Alexander Sidyakin, a senior party member, was appointed as the committee’s chairman. Sidyakin previously managed party initiatives related to drone projects for the Russian military in Ukraine, according to the newspaper Vedomosti. The new committee consolidates policymaking responsibilities for several emerging technology areas that were previously distributed across multiple parliamentary committees.

Additionally, the State Duma will see the creation of the Committee on Criminal and Administrative Legislation, chaired by United Russia member Yury Petrov. This committee is being formed from the existing Committee on State Building and Legislation, which handled up to a quarter of the lower house's bills and collaborated with Kremlin lawyers on significant legislation.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, nominated by President Vladimir Putin to continue in his role, had proposed reallocating part of the workload from the Committee on State Building and Legislation to the new committee. Medvedev stated that United Russia is projected to secure 349 out of 450 seats in the State Duma following the upcoming parliamentary elections on Sunday. Final election results are expected to be released on Friday.