Tension related to Iran and the crisis in the Middle East have spurred conversations about the idea of technological sovereignty and, more specifically, artificial intelligence sovereignty.
In recent years, the concept of technological sovereignty has gained momentum as countries look to capitalise on the economic benefits of AI.
Sovereignty is, broadly, described as countries' ability to govern their own national security using digital tools, without having to rely on another nation.
But Iran's attacks on Gulf states, in response to US and Israeli strikes on February 28, have shown that the idea of AI sovereignty might be more nuanced than anticipated. That discussion was the focus of discussions in Washington on Thursday at Johns Hopkins University’s 2026 Emerging Tech Symposium.
"Since the Iran war has started, we've seen data centres targeted," said Jared Mondschein, a scientist at the Rand Corporation think tank.
Mr Mondschein, who previously worked for the US State Department focusing on emerging technology and cyberspace, said that, in recent years, much of the concern about data centre construction focused on nefarious actors gaining access to the sites and using them unlawfully.
"The discussions I was in rarely revolved around kinetic risks. Frankly, it's just really hard problem," he said, before pointing out that data centres in the Middle East are not uniquely vulnerable.
"Even looking at it [in the US], there are not many great paths forward to defending civilian or private sector-owned infrastructure from these sorts of attacks," he added, referring to threats such as the Iranian drone and missile strikes on Gulf states.
This means that, while the idea of technological sovereignty might look good on paper, the world is more interconnected than ever. Even the most independent, technologically savvy countries might still need to depend on others.
Kevin Allison, president of policy intelligence company Minerva Technology Futures, echoed those sentiments. "I think it has also revealed somewhat of a paradox at the heart of some digital sovereignty initiatives," Mr Allison said.
He explained that, in a hypothetical scenario in which a data centre is attacked and causes a blaze, a fire suppression system would activate and potentially cause the site to be disabled.
"However, if you have a data centre that's part of a large global footprint of data centres, you can fail over potentially and/or move your things to other regions," he said. AI and technological sovereignty should not necessarily mean closing off the rest of the world, he said.
US undersecretary of state for economic affairs Jacob Helberg in recent weeks also briefly touched on the need for interconnectedness with various countries amid the AI boom, while working in tandem with the idea of technological sovereignty.
Mr Helberg said lessons could be learnt from the conflict with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “It's about what happens when the physical infrastructure of civilisation, the chokepoints, corridors, cables and ports, become the battlefield,” he said.
He added that the US-led Pax Silica initiative would ensure the security of technology supply chains, as demand for AI-based technology increases. US officials have said that Pax Silica aims to unite nations that are home to the world’s most advanced technology companies and help to “unleash the economic potential of the new AI age”.
