What question did this study set out to answer?

To establish criteria for determining the sovereignty of artificial intelligence systems.

July 14, 2026Open Access

Is my AI sovereign? A ten-point self-assessment

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

An AI system is only truly sovereign and under the user's control if it satisfies a ten-point assessment encompassing weights, inference location, update channel, egress, audit trail, kill switch, jurisdiction, governance, key custody, and continuity. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.METHODOLOGICAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

MIMicky IronsMaryland Institute College of Art

Key Points

To establish criteria for determining the sovereignty of artificial intelligence systems.
Identified ten key checks for AI sovereignty: weights, inference location, update channel, egress, audit trail, kill switch, jurisdiction, governance, key custody, and continuity.
Emphasized the necessity of passing all checks to maintain control over AI systems.
Failure to pass any check indicates a loss of control over the AI system.
The framework emphasizes the importance of a transparent audit trail for AI actions.

Abstract

Your AI is sovereign only if it passes all ten checks: weights, inference location, update channel, egress, audit trail, kill switch, jurisdiction, governance, key custody and continuity. Fail one and control has already passed to someone outside your perimeter.Originally published at https://mickai.co.uk/articles/is-my-ai-sovereign-a-self-assessment-checklist. Mickai is a Sovereign Intelligence Operating System; the Open Audit Record signs every artificial intelligence action before it executes, post-quantum and offline-verifiable. 104 filed UK patent applications, Mickai LTD (Companies House 17166618).

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