🔗 Share this article

Around the globe, governments are pouring hundreds of billions into what's termed “sovereign AI” – creating national machine learning models. Starting with the city-state of Singapore to Malaysia and Switzerland, states are competing to create AI that grasps regional dialects and cultural nuances.

The Worldwide AI Arms Race

This movement is an element in a wider worldwide contest spearheaded by large firms from the United States and the People's Republic of China. While firms like OpenAI and a social media giant allocate substantial resources, developing countries are also taking sovereign investments in the artificial intelligence domain.

However given such tremendous amounts at stake, can developing nations achieve significant benefits? According to a specialist from a well-known policy organization, “Unless you’re a affluent state or a big company, it’s a substantial challenge to build an LLM from nothing.”

Defence Concerns

Numerous states are reluctant to rely on external AI systems. Throughout the Indian subcontinent, as an example, Western-developed AI tools have occasionally been insufficient. An illustrative instance saw an AI tool used to educate learners in a distant community – it communicated in English with a pronounced US accent that was nearly-incomprehensible for local users.

Furthermore there’s the national security factor. For the Indian defence ministry, employing specific international AI tools is considered inadmissible. Per an entrepreneur noted, “It could have some unvetted training dataset that could claim that, oh, a certain region is separate from India … Using that certain AI in a defence setup is a big no-no.”

He added, “I have spoken to people who are in defence. They aim to use AI, but, disregarding certain models, they prefer not to rely on Western systems because details may be transferred outside the country, and that is totally inappropriate with them.”

Domestic Initiatives

Consequently, some nations are backing domestic projects. One such project is in progress in India, wherein a firm is working to create a national LLM with government funding. This initiative has committed roughly $1.25bn to artificial intelligence advancement.

The developer foresees a AI that is less resource-intensive than premier systems from Western and Eastern tech companies. He notes that India will have to make up for the funding gap with expertise. Located in India, we do not possess the option of pouring huge sums into it,” he says. “How do we contend versus for example the hundreds of billions that the US is investing? I think that is the point at which the fundamental knowledge and the intellectual challenge plays a role.”

Local Emphasis

Across Singapore, a government initiative is supporting language models educated in the region's regional languages. These languages – for example Malay, the Thai language, Lao, Bahasa Indonesia, the Khmer language and others – are often poorly represented in US and Chinese LLMs.

I wish the individuals who are creating these national AI tools were informed of how rapidly and how quickly the cutting edge is advancing.

A senior director involved in the initiative explains that these models are intended to supplement more extensive systems, as opposed to displacing them. Tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, he says, often find it challenging to handle native tongues and local customs – interacting in stilted the Khmer language, as an example, or suggesting pork-based meals to Malay consumers.

Developing native-tongue LLMs enables local governments to code in cultural nuance – and at least be “knowledgeable adopters” of a powerful technology developed overseas.

He continues, “I’m very careful with the word sovereign. I think what we’re attempting to express is we aim to be more accurately reflected and we want to comprehend the abilities” of AI technologies.

Multinational Collaboration

Regarding nations attempting to find their place in an intensifying international arena, there’s a different approach: join forces. Analysts associated with a prominent institution put forward a government-backed AI initiative allocated across a consortium of developing countries.

They call the initiative “Airbus for AI”, modeled after Europe’s productive play to develop a alternative to Boeing in the mid-20th century. Their proposal would entail the formation of a government-supported AI organization that would merge the resources of several countries’ AI initiatives – including the UK, Spain, the Canadian government, Germany, the nation of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the French Republic, the Swiss Confederation and the Kingdom of Sweden – to establish a strong competitor to the US and Chinese leaders.

The main proponent of a study setting out the initiative notes that the proposal has gained the attention of AI officials of at least three nations to date, as well as a number of national AI companies. Although it is currently centered on “developing countries”, less wealthy nations – the nation of Mongolia and the Republic of Rwanda included – have likewise indicated willingness.

He explains, In today’s climate, I think it’s just a fact there’s reduced confidence in the promises of this current White House. Individuals are wondering like, can I still depend on any of this tech? In case they choose to