Sovereign AI podcast

Episode 5: sovereign AI in France, governance and testing as hidden layers with Nicolas Miailhe (PRISM Eval, The Future Society)

France put ethics, research and sovereignty at the heart of its AI strategy. Has it turned principle into power? Maria speaks with Nicolas Miailhe (PRISM Eval, The Future Society) about the real levers of sovereignty in France: governance that sets the field, and testing that earns trust. The argument is simple and sharp — you do not need to own every layer if you can own assurance. France AI strategy, AI governance, AI testing, AI evaluation, AI assurance, INESIA, PRISM Eval, The Future Society, digital sovereignty, responsible AI.

Episode 4 – Sovereign AI in Germany: skills as the foundation of sovereignty with Dr. Stefan Kesselheim (Jülich)

Germany is advancing fast with Jupiter and frontier research. The real prize is capability people can understand and use. In this episode * Open understanding as the heart of sovereignty * Jupiter’s power, plus the human systems that make it useful * Open components, AI literacy for everyone, and hands-on support for SMEs * Policy that funds experimentation and measures impact in daily life Sovereignty begins with skills, confidence, and shared knowledge.

Episode 3 – Sovereign AI in the UK: from safety leader to superpower? — with Max Beverton-Palmer (NVIDIA)

The UK has the talent, research, and policy ambition. But can it turn those strengths into sovereign AI capability — or remain dependent on others? In this episode, Maria Luciana Axente speaks with Max Beverton-Palmer, Head of Public Policy UK at NVIDIA, about what it really takes to build sovereign AI in Britain. Highlights include: * Why Isambard-AI in Bristol could be the flywheel that proves Britain can make AI rather than just buy it. * How sovereignty will be judged not in press releases but in GP surgeries, public services, and whether UK startups stay and scale here. * Why trust will only be earned if AI delivers visible improvements in people’s lives. * How “British AI” should reflect culture and language — from Welsh to estuary slang. With billions in new investment and Jensen Huang declaring the UK an “AI superpower,” the stakes couldn’t be higher. Listen in to find out if Britain can move from safety leader to sovereign power — and what signals will show the strategy is working.

Episode 2 - Data and Infrastructure, the main pillars of Sovereign AI — with Karl Havard (NScale)

Data and infrastructure are the true pillars of sovereign AI — without them, sovereignty remains an abstract idea. In this second episode of the Sovereign AI podcast, developed in collaboration with NVIDIA, Maria Luciana Axente speaks with Karl Havard, Chief Commercial Officer at Nscale about how these foundations are being built in the UK today. Highlights include: * How AI growth zones and data centres could become the catalyst to unlock the UK’s stranded renewable energy and feed it back into the national grid. * Why sovereignty will only carry weight if enterprises and start-ups commit workloads to sovereign platforms, turning infrastructure into jobs, innovation and national capability. * The broader economic and societal impacts of anchoring AI sovereignty in data and infrastructure. This conversation comes as N-Scale, in partnership with NVIDIA, Microsoft and OpenAI, announced the UK’s largest AI supercomputer and the launch of Stargate UK, powered by 58,000 NVIDIA GPUs. A decisive step that shows sovereign AI moving from words to infrastructure. Listen in for a timely and candid discussion about how nations can become AI makers, not takers.

Episode 1 — Building Sovereign AI with David Hogan (NVIDIA)

In the first episode of the Sovereign AI Podcast, developed in collaboration with NVIDIA, host Maria Axente speaks with David Hogan, Vice President for Enterprise EMEA at NVIDIA, about what it takes to build AI on your own terms. They explore why Sovereign AI matters for nations and companies, the barriers Europe faces in developing true capability, and what changes when countries build their own “AI factories.” The conversation covers infrastructure, national competitiveness, early success stories, and how governments can ensure control and trust in this new era of intelligence.