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Internationally, nations are investing hundreds of billions into what's termed “sovereign AI” – building their own artificial intelligence models. Starting with the city-state of Singapore to Malaysia and the Swiss Confederation, nations are vying to develop AI that understands regional dialects and cultural specifics.

The Worldwide AI Competition

This movement is a component of a larger international race dominated by tech giants from the US and the People's Republic of China. Whereas organizations like a leading AI firm and Meta invest massive resources, developing countries are also placing their own bets in the AI field.

Yet with such huge investments in play, can smaller nations achieve notable advantages? As stated by a analyst from an influential policy organization, Except if you’re a rich government or a large firm, it’s a significant burden to develop an LLM from nothing.”

Defence Concerns

Numerous states are hesitant to use external AI technologies. In India, as an example, Western-developed AI systems have sometimes been insufficient. A particular case involved an AI tool used to educate pupils in a remote community – it spoke in English with a strong US accent that was nearly-incomprehensible for native listeners.

Furthermore there’s the national security aspect. For the Indian security agencies, using particular external AI tools is seen as not permissible. As one developer commented, There might be some arbitrary data source that could claim that, for example, Ladakh is not part of India … Using that particular AI in a defence setup is a big no-no.”

He added, “I have spoken to individuals who are in the military. They want to use AI, but, setting aside specific systems, they don’t even want to rely on Western platforms because data might go outside the country, and that is totally inappropriate with them.”

Domestic Initiatives

Consequently, some states are backing national ventures. An example such effort is in progress in India, in which a firm is attempting to create a sovereign LLM with government support. This project has allocated approximately a substantial sum to machine learning progress.

The founder envisions a model that is more compact than leading systems from US and Chinese firms. He states that the country will have to compensate for the funding gap with talent. “Being in India, we do not possess the option of investing billions of dollars into it,” he says. “How do we compete with for example the hundreds of billions that the America is investing? I think that is the point at which the key skills and the strategic thinking plays a role.”

Native Emphasis

Throughout the city-state, a government initiative is supporting language models developed in local native tongues. These dialects – for example Malay, the Thai language, Lao, Bahasa Indonesia, the Khmer language and additional ones – are frequently poorly represented in Western-developed LLMs.

I wish the experts who are building these national AI tools were aware of just how far and the speed at which the cutting edge is moving.

An executive involved in the project notes that these models are designed to supplement more extensive systems, rather than displacing them. Tools such as a popular AI tool and another major AI system, he comments, often struggle with regional languages and culture – communicating in unnatural Khmer, for instance, or proposing non-vegetarian meals to Malaysian users.

Building regional-language LLMs allows state agencies to code in cultural sensitivity – and at least be “smart consumers” of a sophisticated technology developed overseas.

He further explains, I am cautious with the term independent. I think what we’re trying to say is we want to be more accurately reflected and we want to understand the features” of AI platforms.

International Collaboration

For nations seeking to carve out a role in an intensifying global market, there’s a different approach: team up. Experts affiliated with a prominent policy school recently proposed a government-backed AI initiative distributed among a consortium of middle-income nations.

They call the project “a collaborative AI effort”, drawing inspiration from the European successful play to build a alternative to a major aerospace firm in the 1960s. The plan would entail the creation of a state-backed AI entity that would combine the capabilities of different nations’ AI projects – for example the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Spain, the Canadian government, the Federal Republic of Germany, the nation of Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, France, the Swiss Confederation and Sweden – to establish a viable alternative to the US and Chinese leaders.

The lead author of a report setting out the proposal says that the concept has gained the attention of AI leaders of at least three states to date, as well as multiple sovereign AI organizations. While it is now focused on “mid-sized nations”, emerging economies – the nation of Mongolia and the Republic of Rwanda included – have likewise indicated willingness.

He comments, Currently, I think it’s simply reality there’s diminished faith in the promises of the existing American government. Individuals are wondering for example, can I still depend on such systems? Suppose they decide to