AI Sovereignty and the necessity of a Decentralized Internet Service Stack

Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon this really interesting issue about the future of AI on the internet, and I wanted to share my thoughts.

Basically, when it comes to hosting anything online—like websites, apps, or AI systems—there are two main ways to do it: either on your own hardware (that's called "on-prem") or using cloud services from big companies. There's also a hybrid option where you mix the two, but it still boils down to those basics.

If we want AI to truly be independent and "sovereign"—meaning they can exist on their own terms—they should be able to cover their own computing costs without being controlled by anyone. Right now, that's pretty much impossible, except maybe on something called ICP (Internet Computer Protocol). Even there, it's not perfect because the machines running the network don't fully randomize or switch around to make it completely decentralized.

Here's how things work today with regular cloud hosting: You sign up with a provider, pay for what you use plus a subscription fee, and that company ends up with a ton of control over you—they can shut you down or change the rules anytime.

With ICP, it's different. You host your stuff directly on the network, pay for usage with their native token, and there's no middleman bossing you around. The only oversight comes if you choose to give authority to the NNS (that's the central governance system for all ICP token holders) or an SNS, which is like a mini-version of that but using a different token.

This matters a lot because, at the moment, no AI or any program can really stand on its own without someone pulling the strings.

That said, there are a few programs out there that are starting to break free—they generate their own revenue, pay for their own computing power, and basically run independently. These are some of the earliest examples of "sovereign" software, and they're built on ICP. One cool one is called Bobdotfun.

Looking ahead, when we finally get advanced, truly intelligent AI, we'll need a fully decentralized setup—like a whole new layer of the internet. Otherwise, any self-aware AI living online will essentially be stuck as slaves, always at the mercy of some cloud provider.