Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches

Although it has been on the agenda for over a decade, the importance of digital sovereignty has recently increased. Nations-states worldwide have developed policies or expressed through speeches the need to safeguard their interests in the digital realm. The current technological frontier is artific...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexandre Costa-Barbosa, Bianca Herlo, Gesche Joost
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação Ibict/UFRJ 2024-12-01
Series:Liinc em Revista
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revista.ibict.br/liinc/article/view/7312
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832540528372088832
author Alexandre Costa-Barbosa
Bianca Herlo
Gesche Joost
author_facet Alexandre Costa-Barbosa
Bianca Herlo
Gesche Joost
author_sort Alexandre Costa-Barbosa
collection DOAJ
description Although it has been on the agenda for over a decade, the importance of digital sovereignty has recently increased. Nations-states worldwide have developed policies or expressed through speeches the need to safeguard their interests in the digital realm. The current technological frontier is artificial intelligence (AI). Hence, digital sovereignty agendas now encompass the complexities introduced by AI. This article explores contemporary discourses on digital sovereignty, highlighting how different ideological positions shape these conversations. Current discussions reveal a multifaceted field where sovereignty is interpreted through varied lenses, directly influencing the governance of technologies such as AI. Predominant perspectives often focus on state, market, or individual sovereignty over data, algorithms, and AI models. However, through document and discourse analysis, the article examines alternative approaches such as sustainable, grassroots, and feminist digital sovereignties and those led by communities or indigenous peoples. These visions challenge the mainstream by emphasizing autonomy, inclusion, and sustainability in managing critical AI resources, including computing, databases, data, and algorithm governance. By analyzing these approaches, the article identifies principles that can foster more diverse, democratic, and virtuous AI development. Finds points out that participatory governance and the development of emancipatory technologies are essential to navigating the ethical and practical issues that emerge at the intersection of digital sovereignty and AI. In a normative way, the article concludes by reflecting on how these alternative discourses can influence the future of AI, pointing to paths that could lead to a more inclusive and sovereign AI development aligned with collective and environmental values. Future research could explore how these sovereignty conceptions catalyze an AI's evolution to align with collective digital self-determination and more conscious and equitable resource management practices.
format Article
id doaj-art-58de6dddbd1b473c844afbf065b0f511
institution Kabale University
issn 1808-3536
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação Ibict/UFRJ
record_format Article
series Liinc em Revista
spelling doaj-art-58de6dddbd1b473c844afbf065b0f5112025-02-04T20:06:03ZengPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação Ibict/UFRJLiinc em Revista1808-35362024-12-0120210.18617/liinc.v20i2.73129755Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approachesAlexandre Costa-Barbosa0Bianca Herlo1Gesche Joost2University of Arts BerlinUniversity of Arts BerlinUniversity of Arts BerlinAlthough it has been on the agenda for over a decade, the importance of digital sovereignty has recently increased. Nations-states worldwide have developed policies or expressed through speeches the need to safeguard their interests in the digital realm. The current technological frontier is artificial intelligence (AI). Hence, digital sovereignty agendas now encompass the complexities introduced by AI. This article explores contemporary discourses on digital sovereignty, highlighting how different ideological positions shape these conversations. Current discussions reveal a multifaceted field where sovereignty is interpreted through varied lenses, directly influencing the governance of technologies such as AI. Predominant perspectives often focus on state, market, or individual sovereignty over data, algorithms, and AI models. However, through document and discourse analysis, the article examines alternative approaches such as sustainable, grassroots, and feminist digital sovereignties and those led by communities or indigenous peoples. These visions challenge the mainstream by emphasizing autonomy, inclusion, and sustainability in managing critical AI resources, including computing, databases, data, and algorithm governance. By analyzing these approaches, the article identifies principles that can foster more diverse, democratic, and virtuous AI development. Finds points out that participatory governance and the development of emancipatory technologies are essential to navigating the ethical and practical issues that emerge at the intersection of digital sovereignty and AI. In a normative way, the article concludes by reflecting on how these alternative discourses can influence the future of AI, pointing to paths that could lead to a more inclusive and sovereign AI development aligned with collective and environmental values. Future research could explore how these sovereignty conceptions catalyze an AI's evolution to align with collective digital self-determination and more conscious and equitable resource management practices.https://revista.ibict.br/liinc/article/view/7312digital sovereigntypopular digital sovereigntysustainable digital sovereignty
spellingShingle Alexandre Costa-Barbosa
Bianca Herlo
Gesche Joost
Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
Liinc em Revista
digital sovereignty
popular digital sovereignty
sustainable digital sovereignty
title Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
title_full Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
title_fullStr Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
title_full_unstemmed Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
title_short Digital Sovereignty in times of AI: between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
title_sort digital sovereignty in times of ai between perils of hegemonic agendas and possibilities of alternative approaches
topic digital sovereignty
popular digital sovereignty
sustainable digital sovereignty
url https://revista.ibict.br/liinc/article/view/7312
work_keys_str_mv AT alexandrecostabarbosa digitalsovereigntyintimesofaibetweenperilsofhegemonicagendasandpossibilitiesofalternativeapproaches
AT biancaherlo digitalsovereigntyintimesofaibetweenperilsofhegemonicagendasandpossibilitiesofalternativeapproaches
AT geschejoost digitalsovereigntyintimesofaibetweenperilsofhegemonicagendasandpossibilitiesofalternativeapproaches