Workshop report | Provocations on AI Sovereignty: Confronting Complexities & Shaping Future Strategies

By Urvashi Aneja, Harleen Kaur, Shreeja Sen and Anushka Jain

Developed from reflections from the workshop, this report explores what digital sovereignty means, assesses its feasibility, examines who benefits from such an agenda, and unpacks the new policy conundrums it raises.

The concept that every country should develop its own AI capabilities is gathering steam globally. Several countries are investing in specialised computational infrastructure and developing national data sovereignty frameworks to ensure their strategic and economic self-reliance.

Yet, the AI sovereignty discourse obscures the substantive political choices that become necessary once the agenda is translated into concrete policy actions.

We need to ask for whom and from whom sovereignty is to be won—does it pit nation-states against one another, or is it about empowering citizens vis-à-vis powerful technology companies?

Equally, is it about boosting a country’s competitiveness in the global AI race or carving out policy space to pursue goals that might lie outside those pursued in the dominant AI paradigm?

With support from Samagata Foundation, in November 2024, we hosted a workshop to explore the debate around AI sovereignty and its implications for India. Along with 18 of the country’s leading thinkers and practitioners, this workshop created a space for first-principles thinking and forward-looking debate through in-depth discussions.

Read the report here.

Research support | Developing a Democratic and Responsible AI Ecosystem in India: Report of the Working Group on AI Governance

 How Should We Govern AI in India?

Artificial intelligence is already shaping key decisions in finance, healthcare, agriculture, and welfare. But what principles should guide its development and use in India? Who gets to decide how AI evolves, and whose interests it serves?

This report is the outcome of months of deliberation by a working group of experts from law, technology, public policy, and civil society. I had the opportunity to support the group’s research process, helping to bring together evidence and perspectives on some of the thorniest challenges facing AI governance today.

At its heart, this report is about power, accountability, and public interest. It asks how we can build systems that are technically sound, socially grounded, and responsive to India’s democratic and developmental goals.

If we want AI that works for society, then society must have a say in shaping AI. This report offers one starting point for that collective conversation.

Read the report here.