A power grid incident in the US midwest exposed a fundamental infrastructure crisis: data centers powering the AI boom can be built in under a year, but the power plants and transmission lines needed to operate them take 7-10 years and billions of dollars to construct. Companies are improvising with expensive workarounds like on-site gas turbines and repurposed jet engines, while also raising electricity costs for nearby residents, and some solutions like unregulated natural gas operations are creating significant air quality and environmental violations.
Artificial intelligence is concentrating computational power and decision-making authority in a few wealthy countries and firms, while most nations remain primarily consumers rather than creators of AI systems. The United States hosts over 5,000 data centers and accounted for 87 percent of global cloud computing exports in 2023, while skills gaps persist with only 36 percent of tertiary-educated workers versus 18 percent of those with upper secondary education engaging in AI training. Countries like Indonesia and South Africa are developing localized AI approaches, but without broader participation in AI governance and design, most nations risk losing opportunities to build innovation ecosystems and ensure their languages and priorities shape global AI systems.
ChapsVision, a French data analytics startup founded in 2019, was selected by France's domestic intelligence services (DGSI) to replace US firm Palantir, citing concerns over strategic dependency on foreign technology. The DGSI contract is reported to be worth around €10 million and covers data collection and analytics for counterterrorism efforts, with migration from Palantir's systems expected to take 12 to 18 months. The deal has elevated ChapsVision's profile significantly, and the company is now in talks with governments across Europe including Poland, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, while aiming for a €1 billion revenue target and an IPO by 2030.
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