Building Digital Infrastructure Ready for the AI Era

Based on a year-long study of 13 countries across 5 continents, this report finds that digital infrastructure has become a core instrument of governance, shaping state capacity, public trust, and competitiveness in the AI era.

Key Findings:

1. Digital infrastructure has become strategic infrastructure.
   Across countries, governments increasingly view digital infrastructure not as a technical service layer but as a foundation for economic competitiveness, state capacity, and national resilience in the AI era.
2. The greatest challenge is institutional, not technical.
   While technology solutions are increasingly available, governments consistently identified fragmented mandates, weak coordination mechanisms, and siloed implementation as the primary barriers to progress.
3. Trust and adoption are mutually reinforcing.
   Countries repeatedly highlighted that successful digital systems depend on public trust. At the same time, trust is built through reliable, accessible, and citizen-centered services. Neither can succeed without the other.
4. Sovereignty increasingly depends on openness.
   Many governments are pursuing digital sovereignty through open standards, interoperable systems, and strategic use of open-source technologies rather than through complete technological self-sufficiency.
5. Cooperation is becoming a necessity, not a choice.
   As AI development drives demand for data, compute, talent, and infrastructure, middle and emerging powers are increasingly looking toward regional partnerships and shared approaches to reduce costs and strengthen resilience. you can aso add the point that all govs said they cant do this alone

Overview
As AI reshapes economies and public institutions, governments are rethinking the role of digital infrastructure. Across 13 middle and emerging powers, policymakers increasingly see digital infrastructure as a strategic asset that underpins state capacity, public trust, and economic competitiveness.

Drawing on a year of interviews, consultations, and surveys with government officials across five continents, this report examines how countries are building citizen-centered digital infrastructure while navigating growing demands for digital sovereignty, interoperability, and AI readiness. Rather than offering a single blueprint, the findings reveal a set of recurring patterns that cut across diverse political, economic, and institutional contexts.

Four Cross-Cutting Findings:

1. Institutional Fragmentation Remains the Biggest Obstacle
   Governments consistently identified coordination failures across ministries, agencies, and levels of government as a major barrier to implementation.
2. Trust and Adoption Move Together
   Countries that successfully scale digital services tend to view citizen trust not as an outcome of implementation, but as a prerequisite for it.
3. Interoperability Is Becoming a Strategic Imperative
   Regional and cross-border interoperability is emerging as a key enabler of efficient service delivery, digital trade, and future AI ecosystems.
4. Sustainable Financing Remains an Unresolved Challenge
   While governments increasingly recognize the strategic importance of digital infrastructure, long-term funding and maintenance models remain underdeveloped.