Operationalizing AI Sovereignty Through Agency, Interoperability, and Openness

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Luca Belli

The CyberBRICS project at FGV Law School has introduced an operational model for artificial intelligence sovereignty based on the Key AI Sovereignty Enablers framework. Designed to address persistent technological dependencies, this approach structures digital self-determination around three core pillars: agency, interoperability, and strategic openness. Westphalian models of full-stack tech autonomy remain logistically unviable due to capital intensity and specialised supply chains.

Agency establishes a state's capacity to choose providers and adapt systems under constraint. Technical interoperability mitigates vendor lock-in through open standards and portable data architecture. Strategic openness lowers market entry barriers while preventing predatory extraction by dominant foreign technology platforms. The framework evaluates eight critical technology layers, ranging from hardware and energy resources to humanware and cybersecurity safeguards. Collective capacity building presents a viable alternative to total autarky. Evaluating sovereign initiatives against these functional criteria prevents cosmetic digital policies while expanding strategic autonomy.

Comment

The Key AI Sovereignty Enablers framework developed by the CyberBRICS project redefines technological autonomy away from unrealistic full-stack hardware independence toward managed supply chain exposure. By prioritising operational agency across foundational technology layers, states shift their industrial focus from subsidising redundant semiconductor fabrication to controlling software interoperability and data curation protocols. This structural recalibration reflects the prohibitive capital intensity of tier-one microchip fabrication plants and hyperscale cloud infrastructure.

Mechanically, this strategy relies on mandatory open standards and portable API architectures to prevent private provider lock-in across public sector workloads. By institutionalising data stewardship through non-proprietary cloud environments, developing states retain the capacity to alter vendor contracts without risking total service disruption. Consequently, the CyberBRICS project's modular governance model converts technical standards into tools for sovereign leverage against foreign hyperscalers.

Strategic Question for Discussion

Which carries greater strategic risk for middle-tier economies adopting the CyberBRICS project's governance framework — the industrial dependency created by foreign hyperscale cloud hardware, or the operational friction of mandating open-source software interoperability across domestic agencies?

The available evidence points toward foreign hardware dependencies posing the more acute long-term vulnerability, as hardware infrastructure cannot be easily substituted during supply disruptions or sanction regimes. In contrast, operational friction stemming from software interoperability mandates represents a manageable administrative cost that diminishes as technical standards mature. My assessment is that middle-tier states will increasingly accept software integration delays to avoid permanent physical lock-in to foreign compute infrastructure.

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