Antigua and Barbuda Urges Collective AI Sovereignty at AIFOD Geneva Summit

Small nations must take an active role in steering the governance and ownership of artificial intelligence rather than remaining passive consumers, Antigua and Barbuda's foreign minister told our delegates at the AIFOD Geneva Summit 2026, organised by AIFOD at the Palais des Nations. H.E. E. P. Chet Greene warned that concentrated computing power and model development among a small group of countries and firms risks entrenching long-term technological dependency across developing economies.

Principles for Digital Equality

To counter this imbalance, Greene outlined six principles designed to foster digital equality. His framework advocates for open-weight models, sovereign access to computing capacity, stronger domestic data governance, multilingual systems, shared international standards crafted with developing countries, and equal representation in global policy forums. Greene emphasised that emerging economies require the internal capacity to audit, adapt, and govern systems using their own data and languages.

Collective Bargaining and Island Resilience

The address highlighted joint action as a practical strategy for smaller states. By pooling computational resources, coordinating data governance, and negotiating collectively with major technology providers, smaller markets can significantly strengthen their bargaining leverage. Greene also called for focused investment in local talent to prevent technical expertise from leaving emerging economies.

For Small Island Developing States, Greene stressed that technological sovereignty directly underpins climate and disaster resilience. Critical applications such as early-warning alerts, coastal monitoring, and crisis response need to function under domestic governance rather than relying entirely on foreign infrastructure. Concluding his address, Greene affirmed that "small is not a weakness," urging smaller states to lead the construction of shared technical infrastructure.