Artificial intelligence rapidly transforms public services as governments increasingly turn to AI to improve efficiency, enhance decision-making, and anticipate future challenges.

At the recent World Government Summit in Dubai, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, called on every nation to build its own “sovereign AI” infrastructure.

“Your country owns the data,” Huang told the UAE’s AI Minister, Omar Sultan AlOlama. “You cannot allow that to be done by other people.” He said data is key to a nation’s cultural identity, societal wisdom, and historical understanding. It’s the raw material for AI models, and allowing foreign entities to process it can create dependence and vulnerability.

Huang envisions each country building infrastructure and a national strategy to capture and leverage locally extracted data and intelligence.

He talked about democratizing AI infrastructure, urging countries to seize the opportunity and “build as fast as you can” to empower researchers, companies, and governments.

Huang said building AI infrastructure is “not that costly. It’s also not that hard,” and suggested codifying national languages and data into large language models, citing initiatives like Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi’s CORE 42 in Arabic.

This call for self-reliance extends beyond words. According to Reuters, Nvidia is developing a dedicated business unit crafting bespoke chips for cloud computing and advanced AI processors, potentially catering to nations seeking independence in their AI ventures.

The Innovation By Design Summit is in Doha on April 24. Attendance at the summit is by invitation only. Delegates can register here to receive their exclusive invite.