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Anthropology of Digital Sovereignty

The Anthropology of Digital Sovereignty: The Case of the Italo-G7 African AI Hub Initiative

Abstract

The emergence of Sovereign Artificial Intelligence (Sovereign AI) marks a turning point in the political geography of power in the 21st century. While often interpreted through the lenses of geopolitics and the digital economy, this transformation demands deeper analysis that includes an anthropological perspective. This article explores the symbolic, cultural, and social meanings of Sovereign AI, focusing on how it redefines sovereignty, democratic participation, and power relations between states, communities, and individuals.

 

We analyze the case of the Italo-G7 initiative for an African AI hub , highlighting internal contradictions in Italian rhetoric and the risks of digital neocolonialism . Using a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative), we demonstrate how inconsistencies between domestic and foreign practices weaken Italy’s international credibility and reproduce historical patterns of domination under new technological forms.

 

1. Introduction: Sovereignty in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

In recent years, the concept of “Sovereign AI” has gained prominence in international debates on technological control, national security, and the future of innovation. It refers to a state's capacity to develop, manage, and use artificial intelligence systems independently from external influence, ensuring data protection, compliance with local regulations, and strategic autonomy.

 

While many studies focus on geopolitical and infrastructural factors, few have addressed the issue from an anthropological perspective . As Appadurai (1996) argues, the contemporary world is shaped by "imagined landscapes" (scapes ), where global technologies and narratives shape collective identities and future expectations. Therefore, Sovereign AI cannot be fully understood without considering how it is embedded in specific cultural contexts, reshaping traditional power structures and redefining the very meaning of sovereignty and democracy.

 

Guiding Research Questions

How does Sovereign AI redefine the relationship between technology, power, and society?

What anthropological implications arise from the export of Western technological models to the Global South?

Is there coherence between Italian domestic practices and its international promises regarding AI cooperation?

2. Methodology: A Mixed-Methods and Interdisciplinary Approach

The research adopts a mixed-methods approach , combining:

 

2.1 Secondary Document Analysis

Official policy papers (EU, G7, African Union)

National AI strategies (Italy, India, UAE, China)

Reports from international organizations (UN, World Bank)

2.2 Semi-Structured Interviews

Fifteen qualitative interviews were conducted between March and July 2024 with:

 

African AI researchers (n=5)

Italian public officials (n=4)

Experts in digital ethics (n=3)

Digital activists (n=3)

2.3 Quantitative Analysis

Datasets on Sovereign AI investments (Sources: Statista, IDC, Eurostat, World Bank)

Surveys on digital literacy in Italy and Africa (Sources: Eurostat, Afrobarometer)

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Technological Anthropology (Suchman, 2007)

Digital Sovereignty (Deibert, 2020)

Post-Colonial Critique of AI (Couldry & Mejias, 2019)

3. Case Study: The Italo-G7 African AI Hub Initiative

3.1 General Context

The Italo-G7 African AI hub initiative aims to create an autonomous technological hub in collaboration with Egypt, Kenya, and ten other African countries. Promoted as a tool to reduce the global digital divide, it unfolds within a context of growing competition among technological blocs (West vs. China).

 

3.2 Empirical Data

Investments : €450 million allocated by the G7.

Participants : 12 African countries involved; 8 selected research centers.

Technologies used : NVIDIA Cloud, Oracle software, limited open-source models.

Digital Literacy :

Italy: 54% of the population has basic digital skills (Eurostat, 2023).

Sub-Saharan Africa: only 19% (Afrobarometer, 2022).

3.3 Internal Contradictions

Interviews reveal a series of tensions:

 

While Italy promotes transparency in Africa, serious gaps exist in public consultation on national AI strategies (Ministry of Innovation, 2023).

Most of the technologies used in the hub are controlled by multinational companies (NVIDIA, Oracle), raising doubts about actual independence.

Only 12% of interviewed experts believe the initiative guarantees real knowledge transfer and intellectual property rights to African partners.

4. Key Findings

4.1 Redefining Digital Sovereignty

Sovereign AI is not just a technical issue but a means to redefine state sovereignty in terms of data control, autonomous decision-making, and public information management. As Crawford and Joler (2018) show, every AI system incorporates epistemological and moral assumptions that reflect the cultures and elites that produce them.

 

4.2 Digital Colonialism and North-South Divide

Interviews and collected data confirm that the African hub risks replicating historical dynamics of technological dependence. Despite promises of cooperation, strong Western influence remains over access criteria, governance, and benefit distribution.

 

4.3 The Italian Paradox: External Rhetoric vs. Domestic Practice

The lack of participatory processes in Italy makes it difficult to sustain moral leadership in global AI governance. Innovation laws are often approved without civic consultation, while digital education remains marginal in school curricula.

 

5. Discussion: Symbolic Power, Opacity, and Global Asymmetries

Findings indicate that Sovereign AI represents a form of symbolic power capable of redefining social hierarchies, cultural values, and power relations. However, its global application is hindered by:

 

Technological Fragmentation : absence of global standards for AI governance.

Informational Asymmetries : low digital literacy in the Global South.

Decisional Opacity : lack of transparency in technological choices both in Italy and international projects.

As Couldry and Mejias (2019) argue, the use of AI by dominant actors risks perpetuating an “extractive logic,” where data is extracted without returning value to origin communities.

 

6. Conclusions and Future Perspectives

The challenge of Sovereign AI is twofold:

 

Technological : building truly autonomous infrastructures.

Political : ensuring that projects like the African hub do not replicate asymmetric power dynamics.

But there is a third, often neglected dimension:

 

Anthropological : understanding that each technological system is a form of culture, which must be respected, interpreted, and made to dialogue.

Without an anthropological approach, Sovereign AI risks becoming a new tool of domination. With it, however, a season of intercultural cooperation could emerge, where technology and humanity meet to build a truly shared future.

 

Future Research Lines

Longitudinal study of the social impact of the African hub over time.

Comparative analysis of different conceptions of “algorithmic ethics” in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Development of frameworks for participatory governance of Sovereign AI.

Appendix: The G7 Paradox – Tool of Global Governance or Theater of Anachronistic Power?

1. Strategic Fracture: Values vs. Realpolitik

The Trump effect in 2025 reveals the absence of a common vision: his threats of universal 10% tariffs expose an internal crisis within the G7. Europe seeks defensive autonomy (strengthened ESDP), while the US pushes for transactional logics (“pay-to-play NATO”).

 

Key Divisions:

Climate : Italy and Japan vs Canada and USA on fossil fuel subsidies.

AI Ethics : Germany proposes binding rules; the US opposes to avoid hindering innovation.

2. The Machine of Opportunism: Structured Clientelism

Elites survive credibility crises through cross-clientelist networks:

 

Cross Recommendations

Energy CEOs appointed to AI task forces

Privatization of public policy

Emergency Narrative

“Hybrid war requires less transparency”

Suspension of democratic oversight

Selective Distraction

Focus on migrants vs. global debt

Obscuring North-South inequalities

 

3. The Great Silence: Why Opacity Kills the Future

Institutional opacity proves to be an effective political weapon:

 

Agreements on quantum encryption and military AI classified as “defense secrets.”

The multinationals' tax negotiation text (15%) modified under lobbyist pressure without public trace.

The Binary Illusion

The rhetoric of “West vs. Autocracies” hides complex realities:

 

68% of G7 AI investments in Africa go to firms registered in tax havens (Tax Justice Network data).

Critical supply chains (rare earths, chips) intertwine China and the West in an inseparable way.

4. Toward Collapse? Three Possible Scenarios

Fragmentation

60%

G7 reduced to G4 (USA, UK, Japan, Canada); EU creates a separate, weak Technology Parliament.

Authoritarian Turn

30%

Establishment of a “Cyber NATO”; mass surveillance justified by the “hybrid threat.”

Revival

10%

Radical reform with mandatory transparency, a randomly selected Global Citizens Assembly, and sanctions for those who violate declared values.

 

“The real nerve isn’t the absence of unity, but the will to maintain it fictitiously. Every summit is a ritual where the future is sacrificed on the altar of political immediacy.”

 

Final Conclusion

Transforming the G7 from a power club into a laboratory of coherence is possible, but requires:

 

An independent ethical tribunal to evaluate every decision.

An open-source platform for real-time negotiations.

A non-regression clause : no agreement can violate fundamental rights.

Without these steps, global AI governance will continue to mask inequalities and colonialisms hidden under the guise of technological progress.

 

Bibliography 

Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

 

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Bank of the South (Banca del Sur). (2024). Report on Technology and Conflict Prevention . UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

 

Crawford, K., & Joler, V. (2018). Anatomy of an AI System: The Amazon Echo as an Anatomical Map of Human Labor, Data and Planetary Resources . SHARE Lab, SHARE Foundation and The AI Now Institute, NYU. https://anatomyof.ai

 

Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019). The Costs of Connection: How Data Is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating It for Capitalism . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

 

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Eurostat. (2023). Digital Skills and Competences in the EU . https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

 

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