Glossary
AI Sovereignty
A political claim that a state or community should control critical AI infrastructure, data and policy choices rather than depend entirely on external providers.
Last reviewed 2026-08-22
In plain language
AI sovereignty is used in industrial strategy, development policy and some digital-rights debates. It can mean public computing capacity, domestic data governance, or independence from foreign surveillance. The term is contested: it can support legitimate public-interest infrastructure or justify protectionism and domestic repression. Related ideas include data sovereignty and technological self-determination.
Why it matters for AI governance
Global South and MENA policy discussions often turn on dependency, compute access and whose rules apply. The term should be unpacked rather than treated as self-explanatory.