Trending 
The United States has urged African countries to build their logistics, trade, and digital infrastructure on American artificial intelligence systems.
The North American country argued that its technology offers stronger security, greater transparency, and better protection of national data than competing ecosystems.
Mark Mitchell, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Middle East and Africa, made the appeal during a digital press briefing at the Africa Logistics and Communications Symposium in Addis Ababa, which brought together delegates from more than 40 African nations.
“The real choice is not which chip or cloud to buy, but which ecosystem powers your growth for the next generation. Not every ecosystem offers the same performance, security, transparency, IP protection, commercial choice, or respect for national sovereignty. The American ecosystem does, and we win on the merits in open competition,” Mitchell said.
Responding to concerns about dependence on foreign technology, Mitchell argued that AI sovereignty should not be equated with building every layer of the technology stack domestically.
“Sovereignty doesn’t mean building the whole stack. Complete technological self-containment is unrealistic for any country, because the AI stack is too complex,” he said.
“Real AI sovereignty means owning and using best-in-class technology for the benefit of your people and nation, strategic autonomy alongside rapid adoption – not isolation while you try and ultimately fail to build self-sufficiency.”
The U.S. official pitched the idea that American companies can help African governments deploy AI infrastructure while ensuring that logistics and trade data remain within national borders.
“Keep your data yours. American companies can build large, independent AI infrastructure with secure and robust supply chains that minimize backdoor risk, plus cryptographically protect confidentiality, and world-leading security to keep sensitive logistics and trade data within your borders and under your control.
“Build on the infrastructure you own, adapted to your context. When American companies build it, it’s yours. Open-source models enable local training and fine tuning with linguistic and cultural adaptation, without embedded political orthodoxies. And logistics AI works to best build on local road networks, trade patterns, and local data sets and partners.”
