Gulf states' ambitious investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, aiming for technological independence, paradoxically creates significant jurisdictional, technological, and security dependencies on the United States. The Trump administration's 'AI sovereignty' concept promotes deep reliance on US technology as a necessary cost for access to world-leading capabilities, backed by programs like the American AI Exports Program.
However, the US CLOUD Act of 2018 allows American law enforcement access to data held by US cloud providers, regardless of physical location, creating a major data sovereignty challenge for Gulf nations utilizing Oracle, Microsoft, or AWS. Recent Iranian ballistic missile strikes in February 2026 also exposed the physical vulnerability of Gulf AI campuses and critical fibre-optic infrastructure, while global chip supply chains remain exposed to Middle Eastern energy and feedstock disruptions. Gulf states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are attempting to hedge by diversifying partnerships with European and Chinese firms, though this does not equate to full independence. Furthermore, the risk of inference data exposure, where AI queries reveal sensitive strategic intelligence, remains a critical, unaddressed sovereignty concern.
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