Every government aiming for sovereign artificial intelligence has roughly the same mantra: build their own ChatGPT, leapfrog into AI leadership, and be free of foreign dependence. It’s a compelling narrative, but one that’s arguably unrealistic, as a handful of American and Chinese tech firms control the AI infrastructure — from chips and large language models to cloud services and data centers.
Rising tensions between the U.S. and China, alongside fears of being left behind in the AI race, have spurred governments from Seoul to São Paulo to prioritize sovereign AI — the ability to produce AI with their own data, infrastructure, workforce, and networks — which officials say is critical to national security.
Big tech companies have responded by offering sovereignty as a service. Nvidia has made deals with countries including Thailand, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, while Microsoft has agreements with the UAE and others, and Amazon Web Services has a European “sovereign cloud.” Huawei, meanwhile, is courting Peru, Indonesia, and other Chinese allies.
But in entering these deals, nations risk locking themselves into long-term dependencies on foreign architectures, chips, and other export-controlled technologies that can undermine their sovereignty and their ambition, Rui-Jie Yew, a doctoral student at Brown University who researches AI policy, told Rest of World.
