Nations Are Allocating Huge Amounts on Domestic Independent AI Systems – Could It Be a Significant Drain of Resources?

Around the globe, states are pouring enormous sums into what's termed “sovereign AI” – developing their own AI models. Starting with the city-state of Singapore to the nation of Malaysia and Switzerland, nations are competing to build AI that grasps local languages and cultural nuances.

The International AI Arms Race

This initiative is a component of a wider worldwide competition spearheaded by large firms from the America and China. While companies like a leading AI firm and a social media giant pour massive resources, middle powers are also taking independent investments in the AI field.

Yet with such huge sums in play, can less wealthy nations achieve significant advantages? According to a analyst from an influential policy organization, Except if you’re a wealthy state or a large corporation, it’s a significant burden to create an LLM from the ground up.”

Defence Considerations

Numerous nations are unwilling to rely on external AI systems. Throughout the Indian subcontinent, for instance, American-made AI solutions have sometimes been insufficient. An illustrative example featured an AI assistant deployed to instruct students in a remote area – it spoke in the English language with a pronounced US accent that was nearly-incomprehensible for regional listeners.

Furthermore there’s the defence aspect. In India’s security agencies, employing particular external AI tools is viewed inadmissible. Per an developer commented, “It could have some random learning material that might say that, oh, a certain region is not part of India … Employing that specific AI in a defence setup is a big no-no.”

He further stated, I’ve discussed with experts who are in security. They want to use AI, but, setting aside specific systems, they are reluctant to rely on American technologies because information might go overseas, and that is absolutely not OK with them.”

National Initiatives

As a result, a number of states are backing domestic initiatives. An example such a effort is underway in India, in which a company is working to create a domestic LLM with government funding. This initiative has dedicated roughly 1.25 billion dollars to machine learning progress.

The founder foresees a system that is significantly smaller than top-tier systems from Western and Eastern firms. He notes that the country will have to offset the funding gap with expertise. Located in India, we lack the luxury of pouring billions of dollars into it,” he says. “How do we compete versus for example the $100 or $300 or $500bn that the US is devoting? I think that is where the key skills and the brain game comes in.”

Native Emphasis

Throughout the city-state, a state-backed program is funding language models trained in the region's native tongues. Such dialects – for example Malay, the Thai language, the Lao language, Indonesian, the Khmer language and more – are often poorly represented in Western-developed LLMs.

I hope the people who are developing these independent AI tools were informed of just how far and the speed at which the leading edge is progressing.

A senior director involved in the program notes that these tools are created to enhance more extensive models, instead of replacing them. Tools such as a popular AI tool and another major AI system, he says, frequently find it challenging to handle native tongues and culture – speaking in unnatural Khmer, for instance, or proposing pork-based meals to Malay users.

Creating local-language LLMs enables national authorities to include local context – and at least be “smart consumers” of a powerful system built in other countries.

He adds, I am cautious with the term independent. I think what we’re aiming to convey is we aim to be more accurately reflected and we wish to understand the abilities” of AI technologies.

Multinational Partnership

Regarding countries seeking to establish a position in an intensifying global market, there’s an alternative: team up. Experts associated with a prominent university recently proposed a state-owned AI venture distributed among a group of middle-income states.

They refer to the proposal “Airbus for AI”, modeled after the European effective play to create a rival to Boeing in the mid-20th century. The plan would entail the establishment of a state-backed AI entity that would merge the resources of various nations’ AI projects – such as the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Spain, the Canadian government, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Singapore, South Korea, the French Republic, the Swiss Confederation and the Kingdom of Sweden – to create a strong competitor to the Western and Eastern giants.

The main proponent of a report setting out the initiative states that the idea has drawn the consideration of AI ministers of at least several countries to date, in addition to multiple state AI firms. Although it is currently focused on “middle powers”, emerging economies – Mongolia and Rwanda for example – have additionally indicated willingness.

He explains, Currently, I think it’s just a fact there’s reduced confidence in the assurances of this current White House. People are asking for example, is it safe to rely on such systems? In case they opt to