Infrastructure & Resources
Who controls and has access to the physical and digital infrastructure that AI depends on – including computing power, energy, data centres, and critical raw materials.
Trajectory
Decentralisation and widened access
Main driver
Subsidy/infrastructure-as-a-service commitments
Leading actors
Wealthy states; technology cooperatives
State in 2040
Infrastructure-as-a-service; Global South access
A global infrastructure revolution emerges through the widespread use of quantum computers and decentralised, energy-efficient AI systems that are accessible and cost-effective. Open source dominates completely. Wealthier countries and companies are obliged to grant poorer regions access to AI infrastructure through subsidies or infrastructure-as-a-service models. Self-Explaining AI democratises the technological knowledge required to build and maintain data infrastructures.