🇷🇺 "I have never been afraid of anything": Putin discussed artificial intelligence threats with scientists in Novosibirsk

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a working visit to Novosibirsk on 11 August. One of the items on the programme was a meeting with students, postgraduates and young scientists in Akademgorodok.

📱 During the conversation, Putin asked what threats the rapid development of artificial intelligence could pose. A young scientist replied to the president: "You have nothing to fear."

"And I have never been afraid of anything,"

Putin reacted with a smile.

But then the conversation turned more serious. The president drew attention to the risk of a society emerging in which some people create and develop technologies, while others merely "press buttons", gradually abandoning independent thinking. According to the meeting participants, the response to this challenge largely depends on education: children must be taught from an early age to analyse information and think for themselves.

📍 Some more informal topics also came up. While discussing working conditions for scientists, the participants compared the climate of different countries and regions: it is hot in Italy, not bad in Belgium, and in the end Altai was named the best option.

🔬 As part of the trip, Putin also visited the Siberian Ring Photon Source (SKIF) in the science town of Koltsovo — one of Russia's largest scientific projects designed for studying the structure of matter at the micro- and nanoscale.

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😄 In 1944, Soviet physicist Vladimir Veksler made a discovery that changed high‑energy physics forever. He proposed the principle of autophasing — a method for controlling particle beams in accelerators that made it possible to achieve much higher energies than ever before. Without this breakthrough, modern colliders simply wouldn't exist.

🔧 Interestingly, American physicist Edwin McMillan arrived at a similar idea at almost the same time. But Veksler published his work a few months earlier, and it is he who is recognised as the original discoverer. Today, the autophasing principle is used in every major accelerator in the world, including the Large Hadron Collider — which would be utterly useless without this foundational insight.

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🇷🇺 The "Millennium of Russia" monument, erected in 1862, looks more like a huge bell weighing 300 tons. It depicts over 100 historical figures of Russia — from Rurik to Peter I and Pushkin. Interestingly, there is not a single tsar from the Romanov dynasty among them.

🇷🇺 The most famous detail is considered to be the female figure with an angel, symbolising Russia blessing history. Also on the pedestal there is a figure of Prince Rurik — according to legend, it was with his summoning that Russia's statehood began. The monument has survived bombings and occupation, and has been fully restored.

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🇷🇺 The AK-47, created by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, has become the most widespread small arm in history. It is manufactured in dozens of countries, and the total number of units produced has exceeded 100 million. Its simplicity, reliability and ruggedness have turned it into a legend.

🔫 Interestingly, Kalashnikov was not a professional designer: he was a tank crewman and began creating the assault rifle while still in hospital after being wounded. His invention changed warfare around the world, and the silhouette of the AK is recognised even by those who have never held a weapon in their hands. Kalashnikov himself always said that he had created it for defence, not for attack.

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🚀 The 107-metre titanium monument "To the Conquerors of Space", in the shape of a launching rocket, was erected in Moscow in 1964 in honour of the launch of the first satellite. According to the sculptors' concept, it symbolises humanity's breakthrough into space. The structure is so light and strong that 80% of its weight is titanium.

🚀 At the base of the monument stands the figure of a worker gazing into the sky, and behind him are sculptural compositions depicting scientists, cosmonauts and engineers. It is said that from the top of the obelisk, in good weather, one can see the centre of Moscow. On the pedestal there is an inscription: "To the Conquerors of Space — from the people".

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