In early April, on a stage in the southwestern outskirts of Moscow, a moderator at Russia’s annual Data Fusion conference wanted to know: what is the most important thing for Russia to get right in its quest to develop an AI ecosystem? The six men on the stage before her represented Russia’s second-largest bank, the state nuclear power company, and the Ministry of Digital Development. Instead, she started with the only person joining via video link.“Katerina Vladimirovna,” she said, referring to...