After AI, will the next revolution be digital sovereignty?

Analysis

Artificial intelligence has become the inescapable topic in economic debates today. From boardrooms to trading floors, and at investor conferences alike, a conviction seems to be taking hold: AI will redefine the rules of the game in nearly every sector.

It was against this backdrop that the Club Saint-Alex recently held a conference featuring Philippe Setbon and Gabriel Manceau. For over an hour, the discussions focused on the major global economic balances, the future of the U.S. dollar, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence on financial markets.

One observation quickly emerged: AI is no longer merely a decision-support tool. For many observers, it could soon become one of the main drivers of investment, asset allocation, and value creation.

A question that stood out during the discussion

In attendance, Johan Decottignies, founder of OZAPAY, wanted to offer a different perspective by asking the speakers a question:

"Do you think there could one day be an innovation even more important than artificial intelligence?"

The answer was immediate.

No.

For the speakers, no technology currently identifiable seems capable of surpassing the impact of artificial intelligence on the global economy.

A response that reflects the prevailing sentiment of the moment.

What if the real change lies elsewhere?

Yet, once the conference ended, another reflection emerged.

The history of technology shows that the greatest revolutions are not always the ones we anticipate.

The internet did not merely accelerate the flow of information: it transformed power dynamics.

The smartphone did not only simplify our daily lives: it profoundly changed our habits.

Artificial intelligence, for its part, is gradually automating analysis, creation, and decision-making.

But one essential question remains largely absent from the debates:

Who controls the data that feeds these intelligences?

Because behind every AI model lie billions of pieces of personal, professional, and financial data belonging to users.

As the capabilities of artificial intelligence advance, the question of controlling this data becomes a strategic issue.

The next revolution could be digital sovereignty

What if the major innovation of the next decade were not an even more powerful artificial intelligence, but a paradigm shift?

One in which individuals truly reclaim ownership of their data, their digital identity, and their financial wealth.

This vision rests on a simple principle: enabling users to remain owners of their digital assets rather than systematically entrusting them to centralized platforms.

In this logic, digital sovereignty does not oppose artificial intelligence.

It may well be its essential complement.

A powerful AI does not guarantee its users' freedom.

Conversely, an AI developed within an ecosystem where everyone retains control of their data opens new, more balanced and more resilient perspectives.

A trend that extends well beyond the cryptocurrency world

This reflection does not concern only decentralized finance or digital assets.

It also touches on digital identity, privacy protection, payment infrastructures, social networks, messaging apps, and future digital public services.

Everywhere, the same question arises:

Will users remain mere consumers of digital services, or will they once again become owners of their identity, their data, and their money?

The real issue of the next ten years

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly continue to transform our economies.

But the question that could become just as important is one of governance.

Who controls the data?

Who controls the infrastructures?

Who controls the digital assets?

In other words, the next revolution may not be that of artificial intelligence itself.

It could be that of digital sovereignty, where technology will no longer simply be ever more intelligent, but will finally allow users to regain control of what belongs to them.

As AI advances, this question could well become one of the great technological, economic, and societal debates of the next decade.