The FSB commissioned an AI service to analyze media news, but the developers failed to deliver, Important Stories reports

The FSB commissioned an AI service to analyze media news, but the developers failed to deliver, Important Stories reports

An AI assistant called “Spider” for the FSB’s Second Service was being developed by the Kazan-based company Mikord, according to an Important Stories investigation published.

🔹“Spider” was supposed to automate the work of a department whose staff monitor media news daily and prepare a news digest for FSB leadership.

🔹In the digests reviewed by Important Stories, security officials compiled Russian and international news. The largest category by number of stories was “Sabotage and terrorism in Russia,” followed by “Terrorist attacks and wars abroad,” “Foreign policy,” and “Protests in Russia.”

🔹One of the key sources of information in the digests was independent media. In the first half of 2025, the top five most frequently cited outlets included Aktivatika, RusNews, and Govorit NeMoskva.

🔹The idea was that “Spider” would independently collect all the news the security services needed on an internal news portal, while the FSB duty officer would choose which items should be included in the digest for the bosses.

🔹The first stage of creating “Spider” was supposed to be completed in autumn 2025, but work on the project was suspended. A source familiar with the development process told the outlet that the developers failed to fulfill the state contract and were unable to produce a working service.

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