Digital Sovereignty: The Challenge of Managing Technological Dependence

Technological dependence has ceased to be solely an economic or innovation issue. In a landscape marked by artificial intelligence and competition among powers, it has also become a challenge for national security and strategic autonomy.

These topics were addressed in the panel “Chile in the Face of the New Technological Order: Strategic Capacities and Decisions That Cannot Wait”, held at AthenaLab, featuring presentations by Kenneth Pugh, Distinguished Fellow at AthenaLab; Alejandro Amigo, Senior Researcher at AthenaLab; and Darío García de Viedma, Fellow at the Real Instituto Elcano in technology and digital policy. The conversation was moderated by Rafael Rincón, leader of Digital Development Goals at Fundación País Digital.

One of the central points was that digital sovereignty does not mean aspiring to absolute technological autonomy. For Chile, the challenge lies in understanding and managing its dependencies: identifying critical technologies and suppliers, evaluating alternatives, and anticipating the costs of replacing them in the face of a crisis or geopolitical change.

The advanced computing necessary to develop and operate artificial intelligence models was identified as one of the main vulnerabilities. The manufacturing of advanced chips is highly concentrated in Taiwan, while their design depends on a small number of American companies.

Chile also possesses relevant assets, such as fiber optic infrastructure, the future Humboldt cable, space capabilities, and favorable conditions to attract data centers. Additionally, there is an opportunity to forge alliances that facilitate technology transfer and access to new capabilities.

During his visit, Darío García de Viedma also held a working meeting with AthenaLab to discuss topics of mutual interest in artificial intelligence and explore potential areas of collaboration in studies on critical infrastructure in Latin America.

Looking ahead to 2040, the challenge is not to eliminate technological dependence, but to manage it. Knowing whom we depend on, in which areas, and what alternatives we have will be key to expanding Chile’s margins of autonomy.