Dependence on Hegemonic Tech: A Threat to Small-State AI Sovereignty
On the structural risks of AI colonialism for small nations — and why sovereignty must be reconceived as an infrastructural question.
The smallest nations in the Arctic and North Atlantic — the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland — face a version of the AI transition nobody has designed for. Their languages are underrepresented in training data. Their datasets are too small for the infrastructure assumptions baked into most AI policy frameworks. And geopolitical pressure is intensifying precisely as these decisions are being made.
This is not a peripheral problem — it is a test case for whether AI development will be genuinely pluralistic, or whether it will, by default, benefit only those large enough to be counted.
I work on these questions from the inside. At the University of the Faroe Islands, I move across government, academia, journalism, and industry — carrying perspectives between sectors and building the conditions for cross-sector AI policy conversations the North Atlantic urgently needs.
On the structural risks of AI colonialism for small nations — and why sovereignty must be reconceived as an infrastructural question.
A policy framework with 12 recommendations on AI governance, language preservation, and digital infrastructure for the North Atlantic region. Now carried forward by the Faroese government.
On building a structured, community-based AI network for a small nation — and why intentional coordination matters more than scale.
On how AI can help micro-states compensate for population size — and why smallness is a strategic advantage, not a limitation.
National television feature on AI governance in the Faroe Islands.
The academic foundation — on universities as agents of innovation and sustainability in Arctic communities.
Hugar — Building a national, cross-sector AI ecosystem — connecting government, industry, and research around shared priorities.
Logi — AI strategy, governance, and policy advisory for Nordic and Arctic organisations.
Vitlíki — co-host of a Faroese-language podcast on AI and society.
Martin Mohr Olsen, PhD
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Conversations with policymakers, journalists, and researchers working on AI governance, digital sovereignty, or small-state futures. Speaking engagements, media contributions, advisory mandates, and collaborative projects. If you are thinking about the North Atlantic — reach out.