Al race spurs digital self-reliance push

Thai policymakers seek greater sovereignty over critical infrastructure, writes Suchit Leesa-nguansuk

- Suchit Leesa-nguansuk

The issue of sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a strategic priority for governments and enterprises worldwide, as countries seek greater control over critical digital infrastructure, data and computing capabilities.

In Thailand, similar efforts are beginning to take shape, with policymakers and industry players exploring ways to build domestic AI capabilities and reduce potential national security risks arising from heavy reliance on foreign technology providers.

Sovereign Al refers to the ability of a nation or organisation to develop and manage its own AI capabilities in a way that aligns with domestic laws, security requirements and societal values, according to a report by McKinsey & Company, a multinational strategy and management consultancy.

As geopolitical tensions and regulatory pressures rise, nations are increasingly viewing AI capabilities as central to economic competitiveness, strategic resilience and public trust.

However, sovereign Al is not achieved simply by hosting data locally or building national data centres, according to the report.

True sovereignty spans several layers, including where data and computing infrastructure are located, who operates and secures the systems, who owns the underlying technology and intellectual property, and the legal jurisdiction that governs access to the data.

“Sovereign AI should be seen as a challenge that connects energy, computing capacity, data governance, AI models, cloud platforms and applications,” noted the report.

The most successful initiatives adopt a pragmatic approach known as “minimum sufficient sovereignty”, which involves identifying certain workloads such as government data, critical infrastructure or national security systems that require stronger sovereign controls, while allowing other commercial AI applications to rely on global cloud platforms and technology partnerships.