GOV.UK founder warns AI gold rush could leave Britain locked in

Mike Bracken, founder of GOV.UK and the UK's first Government Chief Data Officer, warns that the rush toward "sovereign AI" risks swapping dependence on foreign tech suppliers for deeper reliance on a handful of AI providers. He argues sovereignty is about retaining the ability to change suppliers and strategy, not just hosting infrastructure domestically.

• Bracken founded GDS and served as the UK's first Government Chief Data Officer
• He co-authored the book Digital Sovereignty: The Power to Decide with Public Digital
• He says institutions lose sovereignty "one reasonable decision at a time"
• Hosting AI infrastructure domestically does not guarantee control over the technology