Views: On AI sovereignty and how Brazil can redefine it
Recently, in Rio de Janeiro, a top executive from Nvidia, a leading AI computing company, solemnly affirmed that "Brazil can still be AI sovereign." While the former statement is correct, the latter seems misleading at best. After the launch of our research on AI Sovereignty at the UN Internet Governance Forum, in October 2023, multiple AI companies have jumped on the AI sovereignty bandwagon, branding their products as the ideal solutions to become AI sovereign.
Understanding AI Sovereignty
AI sovereignty is the latest evolution of the digital sovereignty debate and has enormous relevance for global geopolitics of technology. It is essential to consider this type of sovereignty as the capacity to understand, develop, and regulate AI systems. This understanding is key to constructing a positive agenda for AI governance, based on the sustainable development and regulation of AI systems.
President Lula encouraged the promotion of a different conception of AI, shaped by and for the Global South and for the world. He intends to present such a vision at his opening of the UN General Assembly, in September.
From Brazil to the Global Majority
Both the Lula administration and global policymakers are increasingly understanding that building AI sovereignty requires systemic thinking. To be digitally sovereign, one needs solid research, development, and regulation of several enabling elements such as data, algorithms, computational capacity, connectivity, energy, human resources, cybersecurity, and awareness of AI risks.
The current Brazilian AI strategy, elaborated by the previous federal administration, is incomplete, already obsolete, and contains no operational elements. However, this frustrating status quo offers a golden opportunity to rebuild the Brazilian approach from scratch and to use it as a blueprint for the Global South.
Clouds on the horizon?
Technological dependence in the AI market is evident, with specialised semiconductors, GPUs, and access to cloud computing being essential. Most of the cloud computing market is concentrated in a few companies, leading to investments in R&D to escape dependence on certain products and services. Brazil, with its own cloud computing platform, aims to guarantee data sovereignty and privacy for the government.
Connecting global agendas
AI sovereignty is a blend of socio-environmental justice, education, meaningful connectivity, data protection, and cybersecurity. Brazil has an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the fundamental right to define its technological, economic, and cultural evolution.
Brazil can claim to have been a pioneer of digital sovereignty for more than two decades by promoting Free and Open-source Software (FOSS) as state policy. This pioneering spirit can and should be replicated to promote the development of open AI models.
Sovereign, not isolated
Brazil has a unique opportunity to show that being sovereign does not mean being isolated. It means defining one's digital future while cooperating with partners to avoid technological dependence. Learning from international best practices is vital, but copying existing approaches is useless. Countries need to upgrade their sovereignty to define their digital future and avoid being AI colonies.
