emirates7 - A high-level panel discussion titled “Is Technology the New Sovereign Asset?” held on the first day of the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2026 underscored the growing role of technology as a central pillar of national sovereignty, economic growth, and global cooperation.
The session featured Arvind Krishna, Chairman, President and CEO of IBM, and Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson Group, and was moderated by Mike Allen, Co-founder and Executive Editor of Axios.
Panelists agreed that technology has moved beyond its traditional role as an economic enabler to become a strategic national asset.
Krishna stated that technology today stands on equal footing with defense and finance, describing it as a “force multiplier” capable of accelerating economic development and strengthening national resilience. He emphasized that modern sovereignty is defined by control rather than isolation, noting that nations must ensure their critical digital infrastructure cannot be disrupted, mismanaged, or compromised by external actors.
Krishna highlighted IBM’s newly introduced Sovereign Core, a software foundation designed to give governments full operational control over their digital infrastructure. He noted that sovereignty now extends beyond data residency to include governance, security, and operational independence, particularly as public cloud infrastructure is increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries.
Offering a complementary perspective, Ekholm cautioned against viewing technology sovereignty as complete independence. He stressed that global technology ecosystems are inherently interdependent, with nations relying on trusted international partners across the digital stack.
Ekholm said that trust, transparency, and operational integrity, rather than self-sufficiency, are the true foundations of resilient national technology strategies.
Looking ahead, Ekholm pointed to the rapid advancement of robotics, predicting that humanoid robots could begin appearing at scale within 12 to 18 months, particularly in service-oriented roles such as reception, banking, and tourism.
He outlined Ericsson’s vision for 6G, describing it as a fully AI-native and intent-based network that dynamically adapts to application needs, enabling advanced use cases such as immersive digital experiences and large-scale sensor-driven systems.
He also urged governments to begin planning and allocating spectrum now, calling next-generation connectivity a long-term strategic asset.
On frontier technologies, Krishna said commercially valuable quantum computing is expected within the next two to three years, with early applications in materials science, pharmaceutical research, financial risk modeling, and large-scale logistics optimization. He also forecast an AI landscape dominated by hundreds or thousands of domain-specific models, supported by a small number of large foundational models.
The discussion reinforced the WGS’s role as a global platform for shaping future-ready governance, highlighting how technology, trust, and international collaboration are redefining sovereignty in an increasingly interconnected world.
The session featured Arvind Krishna, Chairman, President and CEO of IBM, and Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson Group, and was moderated by Mike Allen, Co-founder and Executive Editor of Axios.
Panelists agreed that technology has moved beyond its traditional role as an economic enabler to become a strategic national asset.
Krishna stated that technology today stands on equal footing with defense and finance, describing it as a “force multiplier” capable of accelerating economic development and strengthening national resilience. He emphasized that modern sovereignty is defined by control rather than isolation, noting that nations must ensure their critical digital infrastructure cannot be disrupted, mismanaged, or compromised by external actors.
Krishna highlighted IBM’s newly introduced Sovereign Core, a software foundation designed to give governments full operational control over their digital infrastructure. He noted that sovereignty now extends beyond data residency to include governance, security, and operational independence, particularly as public cloud infrastructure is increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries.
Offering a complementary perspective, Ekholm cautioned against viewing technology sovereignty as complete independence. He stressed that global technology ecosystems are inherently interdependent, with nations relying on trusted international partners across the digital stack.
Ekholm said that trust, transparency, and operational integrity, rather than self-sufficiency, are the true foundations of resilient national technology strategies.
Looking ahead, Ekholm pointed to the rapid advancement of robotics, predicting that humanoid robots could begin appearing at scale within 12 to 18 months, particularly in service-oriented roles such as reception, banking, and tourism.
He outlined Ericsson’s vision for 6G, describing it as a fully AI-native and intent-based network that dynamically adapts to application needs, enabling advanced use cases such as immersive digital experiences and large-scale sensor-driven systems.
He also urged governments to begin planning and allocating spectrum now, calling next-generation connectivity a long-term strategic asset.
On frontier technologies, Krishna said commercially valuable quantum computing is expected within the next two to three years, with early applications in materials science, pharmaceutical research, financial risk modeling, and large-scale logistics optimization. He also forecast an AI landscape dominated by hundreds or thousands of domain-specific models, supported by a small number of large foundational models.
The discussion reinforced the WGS’s role as a global platform for shaping future-ready governance, highlighting how technology, trust, and international collaboration are redefining sovereignty in an increasingly interconnected world.
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