Governments from Singapore to Switzerland are racing to build “sovereign AI” systems tailored to local languages and needs, betting public funds against the dominance of U.S. and Chinese tech giants. India’s $1.25 billion IndiaAI Mission backs efforts to develop domestic models amid defense and data-sovereignty concerns about relying on OpenAI or China’s DeepSeek. Proponents say local LLMs can handle regional nuance and compliance gaps, while a proposed “Airbus for AI” would pool resources across middle powers to compete at scale. Skeptics warn the frontier is moving too fast for smaller budgets to keep up, risking wasted taxpayer money and urging a focus on standards and safety regulation instead. The split underscores a strategic choice: build national models, band together, or become “smart consumers” of global platforms.
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