PRESS: Watchdog to catch illegal images, video via AI system

MOSCOW, Sep 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian communications service’s General Radio Frequency Center will launch a system to uncover illegal content in images and video on the Internet, called Oculus, which will work on the base of artificial intelligence, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday.

The center announced a 15 million ruble tender earlier in September to develop a technical assignment for a system screening breaches on the Internet in images and video files. The system is planned to be put in operation in 2022 and will uncover expansion of extremist materials and pornography, narcotic drugs propaganda, promotion of mass riots and suicide.

So far, such materials are uncovered manually, while artificial intelligence will speed this process up. The tender says the work is to be done by December 17.

Trademark Oculus belongs to Facebook since 2019 and the company has even sued for it, but the center is not involved in commercial activities.

Meanwhile, materials on Facebook will be also screened by the system.

Development of the Oculus system may cost from tens to hundreds of millions of rubles, and its implementation will cost billions and maintenance – tens of millions a year, IT firm Lanit-Terkom co-owner Vladimir Ufnarovsky told the daily.

Software maker Artezio Executive Director Pavel Adylin said that it would be problematic to introduce the initiative on the scale of the whole Runet, the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, and if all video materials and images are screened, it will slow down traffic noticeably.

(72.5602 rubles – U.S. $1)

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