The real digital sovereignty crisis hides in the most ordinary office software: take away chatbots and nothing falls over; take away Microsoft Office 365 and governments, businesses and households seize up.
Politicians keep using 'digital sovereignty' as cover for building AI data centres. But AI isn't a load-bearing wall.
Tear out the AI and the wall stands
Imagine every chatbot in Canada, the UK, the EU or the US vanished. What would fall over?
Nothing much. Governments would keep running, firms would keep trading, and only kids would suffer the indignity of doing their own homework again.
The boring software is what actually holds things up
What really bears the load is boring technology, like Microsoft Office 365. Take it away and ministries collapse, firms close and most households are in trouble.
Worse, that load-bearing wall is full of termites. Microsoft's CEO gave $1m to Trump's inauguration and the company gave $10m to the White House ballroom fund.
It runs the back end of Trump's immigration crackdown. Microsoft France's CEO admitted the company would silently hand over French data if Trump ordered it.
When the ICC's chief prosecutor sought a warrant against Israel's PM, Microsoft cut off his email. That is a 278-alarm digital sovereignty fire.
Why it matters
When politicians say 'digital sovereignty' they mean AI data centres and tax breaks; what actually hollows out a country is office software signed over to another country's firms. The fire has been burning for years, in the most boring wall of all.
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