Sovereign AI Must Aim to Amass Soft Power More Than Hard Gains

Developers of trustworthy AI models that empower us could find a ready market across the globe

- REN ITO

Leaders like OpenAI and DeepMind see themselves as being in a race to build artificial general intelligence (AGI): a model capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can. At the same time, the US and Chinese governments see the AI race as a national-security priority that demands massive investments reminiscent of the Manhattan Project. In both cases, AI is seen as a new form of ‘hard power,’ accessible only to superpowers with vast computational resources.

But this view is both incomplete and increasingly outdated. Since the Chinese developer DeepSeek launched its lower-cost, competitively performing model earlier this year, we have been in a new era. No longer is the ability to build cutting-edge AI tools confined to a few tech giants. Multiple high-performance models have emerged around the world, showing that AI’s true potential lies in its potential to extend soft power.

The era of bigger-is-better models ended in 2024. Since then, model superiority has not been determined solely by scale. DeepSeek proved not only that top-tier models can be built without massive capital, but also that using advanced development techniques can radically accelerate AI progress. Dubbed the ‘Robin Hood of AI democratization,’ its decision to go open-source sparked a wave of innovation.