Pluralistic: AI digital sovereignty risk doesn't exist (18 Jun 2026)
The article argues AI sovereignty risk is fake, using the formula: if digital sovereignty + AI = digital sovereignty – AI, then AI = 0. Real threats are U.S. control over Office 365, iPhones, and tractors, not AI tools. National AI investment does nothing to protect against these kill switches.
Background
- Cory Doctorow is a prominent tech critic and author who coined "enshittification" for how platforms degrade once users are locked in. He blogs at Pluralistic.net.
- This piece argues that "AI digital sovereignty risk" is a distraction. The real threat is that the Trump administration can cripple foreign countries remotely—shutting down ministries, companies, tractors, iPhones, Office 365—by weaponizing US tech platforms (as reportedly happened to Denmark over Greenland). AI tools like ChatGPT are not essential infrastructure; losing them changes nothing.
- Doctorow applies a logic test he used against crypto hype: "if problem + blockchain = problem – blockchain, then blockchain = 0." Here: "if digital sovereignty + AI = digital sovereignty – AI, then AI = 0." Building national AI does nothing to protect against kill-switch risks from US-controlled software.
- His alternative: wait for the AI bubble to burst, then buy GPUs and talent cheap. The real digital sovereignty opportunity is repealing US-imposed trade rules that block domestic alternatives to US platforms.