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The central aim of the essay is to assess how access to physical computing infrastructure influences AI sovereignty.

April 22, 2026Open Access

The Infrastructure Question: Who Controls the Compute Controls the Future

Key Points

The central aim of the essay is to assess how access to physical computing infrastructure influences AI sovereignty.
Analyzed the role of semiconductors, data centers, and energy in AI power.
Examined TSMC's influence, U.S. chip export controls, and Central Asian states' dependencies.
Utilized a structural framework to evaluate the implications of computing access on sovereignty.
Argues that AI sovereignty is largely a fictional concept based on material dependencies.
Demonstrates that access to compute resources is crucial for national power in AI.
Compares compute to cotton in historical economic contexts, emphasizing its value.

Abstract

Sovereignty over AI is not determined by law, policy, or governance frameworks — it is determined by access to compute. This essay examines how physical infrastructure — semiconductors, data centers, energy, and the supply chains that connect them — constitutes the material foundation of AI power. Drawing on TSMC's structural position, U.S. chip export controls, and the experience of compute-dependent states in Central Asia, the essay argues that for most of the world, AI sovereignty is a legal fiction built on a material dependency. Compute is the cotton of the 21st century. Essay 10 of the series Beyond Control: Theory of Limits of AI Governance by Oybek Khodjaev (INVEXI LLC, Tashkent, Uzbekistan). Full text: https://okhodjaev.com/essays/the-infrastructure-question/

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The Infrastructure Question: Who Controls the Compute Controls the Future

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