As artificial intelligence becomes deeply embedded in healthcare, government services, cybersecurity, scientific research, and economic development and with possible restrictions on existing AI platforms, a Qatari researcher has cautioned that countries can no longer afford to depend entirely on foreign AI providers highlighting the need for sovereign AI for each nation.
"Sovereign AI is a nation's ability to build, run, and govern its own artificial intelligence. That means owning or at least controlling the computing infrastructure, the data, the AI models and the rules that shape how the technology is developed and used. From this perspective, AI is rapidly becoming as strategically vital to nations as electricity, telecommunications, and energy,” Dr Aref al-Tamimi, senior manager of the National Cyber Security Research Lab at Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) told Gulf Times.
Dr al-Tamimi, said artificial intelligence has evolved from an emerging technology into a critical national asset.
"Its importance reaches far beyond the technology itself. A country with sovereign control over its AI infrastructure is better placed to protect sensitive government and citizen data, safeguard its language and culture, strengthen its economy, and ease its reliance on technologies built elsewhere. Above all, it becomes far more resilient when geopolitics turn unpredictable, and unpredictable is exactly what the current moment has become,” he explained
Dr al-Tamimi noted that the urgency of achieving AI sovereignty became evident following recent international developments. He described "In June 2026, the US government invoked export controls to suspend access to Anthropic's most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for all foreign nationals. The concern was understandable; the consequences, however, were global. Because Anthropic could not verify users' nationality in real time, both models went dark for everyone, everywhere, overnight. Although Claude Fable 5 is now officially back online after the controls were lifted in early July, the nineteen-day blackout demonstrated how quickly access to critical AI tools can vanish.”
This incident, he said, has highlighted the risks of relying exclusively on external AI platforms. "A university running AI research, a startup building its first product, a hospital relying on AI-assisted diagnostics, or a ministry delivering digital services can all be left stranded by a decision taken in another capital, with no warning and no appeal. It does not matter how loyal a customer you are or how legitimate your use case is; if the tool is not yours, it can be taken away. For governments and institutions in the Gulf and beyond, the episode was a wake-up call: total reliance on external AI providers is not a convenience; it is a strategic vulnerability,” he cautioned.
"The message was clear," Dr al-Tamimi continued. "If a country's critical AI systems depend entirely on technologies owned elsewhere, they remain vulnerable to decisions made beyond their control."
The official said that Qatar has already read the moment well. "Through its National AI Strategy, and through institutions such as the Qatar Computing Research Institute and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the country has made real strides in AI research, Arabic language technologies, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. A prime example is Fanar, the Arabic-centric large language model developed by QCRI, a homegrown AI system built to serve the language, culture, and values of the region, and a concrete demonstration of what sovereign AI capability looks like in practice,” he highlighted.
He further recommended that diversifying AI sources—including commercial platforms, open-source models, and domestically developed systems—would improve resilience against future disruptions.
"Every year AI models get bigger, the datasets get more complex, and entire industries discover new uses for intelligent systems, from analysing security data to powering government services. Meeting that rising demand will require continued and expanded investment in high-performance computing, national AI infrastructure, skilled local talent, and sustained support for startups and researchers. The foundation is in place; the challenge now is to keep building on it at the speed the technology demands,” added Dr al-Tamimi.