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Putin: Leader in Artificial Intelligence Will Rule World 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting with students in Yaroslavl, Russia, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Putin said that whoever reaches a breakthrough in developing artificial intelligence will come to dominate the world. (Alexei Druzhinin, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that whoever reaches a breakthrough in developing artificial intelligence will come to dominate the world.

Putin, speaking Friday at a meeting with students, said the development of AI raises “colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now.”

He warned that “the one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) poses for a group picture with students in Yaroslavl, Russia, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Photo: Kremlin Pool/Alexei Druzhinin to via AP

Putin warned that “it would be strongly undesirable if someone wins a monopolist position” and promised that Russia would be ready to share its know-how in artificial intelligence with other nations.

The Russian leader predicted that future wars will be fought by drones, and “when one party’s drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender.”