Stack Sovereignty

= "The idea that 21st-century power is exercised through control over technological infrastructure layers, not just territory."

Description

Summary via DeepSeek:

""Stack sovereignty" is the claim to control and self-determination over one or more layers of this planetary stack. It is the ability for a nation, organization, or community to build and govern these infrastructures on its own terms while still participating in global flows of data and computation. It is not about isolation, but about authorship — deciding which data, models, and rules shape how machine intelligence is built and deployed.

In practical terms, this translates into a vertical competition across all technological layers:

Semiconductor (Chip) Sovereignty: Control over the design and fabrication of the hardware that powers AI and computation.

Compute & Data Centre Sovereignty: Sovereign control over the high-performance computing clusters ("AI factories") so that training and inference can happen domestically.

Data & Model Sovereignty: Governing key datasets and training AI models that are aligned with local law, language, and culture. As one analysis notes, "whoever trains it, rules it. Models are cultural DNA and weights carry worldview".

Software & Application Sovereignty: Ensuring that the digital workers and services running critical infrastructure (hospitals, utilities, etc.) operate with local language, ethics, and legal compliance.

A key principle is that sovereignty is stack-based; control over one or two layers is not enough for true autonomy, which requires trusted control across the entire technological stack."

Characteristics

"Benjamin Bratton's original model consists of six layers:

• Earth: The physical layer, comprising the minerals, energy, and natural resources required for computation.

• Cloud: The layer of global, often corporate, technology services and platforms (e.g., Google, AWS).

• City: The urban environment and the lived experience of interacting with networked technology in daily life.

• Address: The systems for identifying and managing users and objects within the network.

• Interface: The means by which users connect to and interact with computational systems.

• User: The human (and non-human) entities that interact with The Stack.

This model signifies a shift from traditional, territory-based sovereignty to a new system where global corporations can operate with a form of "weird sovereignty" that rivals nation-states."

(via DeepSeek)

Example

"Nations are increasingly refusing to adopt the technological stacks of superpowers and are instead building their own sovereign stacks.

A prime example is Vietnam, which is actively constructing what has been termed a "Third Stack". Refusing both the American and Chinese models, Vietnam is building its own core tech stack of language models, cloud infrastructure, and training data. This is seen as a digital-age equivalent of the non-aligned movement, a claim to independence and freedom in the digital realm. This demonstrates that the future map of computational power may not be a simple bipolar world, but a diverse ecosystem of multiple, sovereign stacks."

Discussion

Cosmo-Localized Network Sovereignty

Summarized via DeepSeek:

"Stack Sovereignty for a Cosmo-Local Archipelago

Concept: Stack Sovereignty for a cosmo-local archipelago is the capacity for a distributed, intentional network of regenerative projects to self-govern by co-creating and controlling a shared, non-territorial technological stack. This stack enables them to manage their shared resources, coordinate production, and maintain their unique cultural and ethical identity, while remaining globally connected. It is the infrastructural enactment of network sovereignty.

1. Context: The Cosmo-Local Imperative

Cosmo-localization describes the dynamic of "what is light is global, and what is heavy is local." It posits that knowledge and designs (the "light") should be shared globally as a commons, while physical production (the "heavy") should be relocalized using that shared knowledge. The "archipelago of regenerative projects" is the emergent social form for this—a network of locally-embedded, bioregionally-attuned communities that are globally interconnected.

The primary challenge for this archipelago is to avoid dependence on the dominant, extractive stacks (corporate or state-controlled) for its vital coordination and communication. Without a sovereign stack of its own, the network's internal logic is inevitably subsumed by the external logic of the platforms it uses.

2. The Non-Territorial Stack: A Layer-by-Layer Blueprint

A cosmo-local stack sovereignty is "non-territorial" because its jurisdiction is based on shared purpose and participation, not geographical borders.

Its layers can be mapped as follows:

• User & Identity Layer: Sovereignty begins with a self-sovereign digital identity. Each member of the archipelago owns their identity and reputation, which is portable across projects and platforms within the network. This is the foundation of individual agency within the collective.

• Interface & Interaction Layer: The user-facing tools are designed for cooperation, not extraction. This includes platforms for democratic deliberation, mutual credit clearing, task management, and shared digital workspaces—all built on open-source principles and designed for interoperability.

• Address & Registry Layer: This is the critical "catalog" of the archipelago's commons. It includes:

• Registry of Shared Designs: A globally accessible library of open-source, cosmo-local blueprints (for agriculture, construction, energy, etc.).

• Registry of Projects & Capabilities: A dynamic map of the archipelago, showing which projects exist, what they produce, and what resources or skills they need.

• Registry of Commons-Based Reciprocity Licenses: Managing the legal and accounting frameworks that enable ethical and reciprocal economic exchange within the network.

• City & Network Layer: This represents the archipelago itself—the tangible, physical nodes (the regenerative projects in their specific bioregions) and the social fabric that connects them. The stack must serve the metabolic needs of these places.

• Cloud & Protocol Layer: This is the shared "backbone" of the network. Instead of relying on AWS or Google Cloud, the archipelago would ideally be served by a federated cloud of cooperative or commons-based hosting providers. The core coordination happens through open, sovereign protocols (like those for mutual credit, verifiable credentials, or supply chain tracking) that any project can implement, ensuring neutrality and freedom from platform capture.

• Earth & Bioregion Layer: This layer is explicitly ethical and metabolic. The stack's fundamental "first principle" is not efficiency or profit, but regeneration. Its design and operation must be aligned with the health of the living planet. This means the stack's energy consumption must be sustainable, and its primary function is to facilitate economies that enhance, rather than deplete, ecological and social capital."