Own the stack: the geopolitics of digital autonomy

Reprising our July conversation on digital autonomy for an executive audience, we'll talk candidly about what it means to control our own destiny. Digital sovereignty is more than just data repatriation—it's the ability to decide and build without the intervention of others. Now that AI is turning data centers into platforms for cognitive work, geopolitics is inseparable from technology.

To survive in the post-rupture era, Canada needs independence along three axes: Economic autonomy, which comes from building and buying domestic services; informational sovereignty, so our sensemaking as a nation is resilient; and technological autonomy, from a tech stack we control.

The United States has clearly stated its ambition to dominate the AI sector globally and are racing China to do so. Will Canada's sovereign AI strategy succeed against a battle of two economic super powers? The weaponization of information poses a parallel threat: a nation that cannot make sense of the world won't be able to make good decisions. Technologically, procurement is becoming instrument of national security.

Amidst all of this, how does the public sector navigate the new rules of procurement while maintaining access to the latest technologies? Robert Michon, a technology executive with decades of experience in data centers and tech on both sides of the border, joins FWD50 chair Alistair Croll and the executive audience in a candid conversation about these new realities.