Valdai Club

This report is the fruit of an intellectual collaboration among a group of young authors from Russia and China, brought together by their shared participation in the Valdai Discussion Club—Next Generation programme in 2024–2025. It seeks to offer the most comprehensive picture of artificial intelligence (AI) as a contemporary international phenomenon—simultaneously pervasive and yet not fully understood.

It would be mistaken to equate such concepts as “state sovereignty” and “closed markets”. Even the most advanced countries—despite policymakers’ efforts and generous levels of state subsidies—are today unable to equip themselves with all the high-tech capabilities required to achieve technological sovereignty.

African countries strive to secure digital and technological sovereignty because it is the only path to independence, true equality, and control over their resources and infrastructure in the modern world. However, the active participation of foreign tech companies in building Africa’s digital infrastructure could entrench the continent’s dependence on external platforms, lead to data leaks, and limit opportunities for local innovation, writes Marina Krynzhina, Associate Professor at the Department of International Journalism at MGIMO. The author is a participant of the Valdai – New Generation project.