This article examines the growing partnerships between US technology companies and Southeast Asian telecommunications firms, arguing that they provide unprecedented access to advanced AI while deepening the region’s dependence on foreign digital infrastructure. It contends that the economic value generated by AI is increasingly concentrated in a small number of US technology companies, limiting Southeast Asia’s technological sovereignty and long-term development. The article evaluates the geopolitical and political-economic implications of these arrangements, highlighting their effects on ownership, governance, and the distribution of digital value. It concludes by arguing that Southeast Asia must move beyond AI adoption towards building sovereign technological capabilities, public digital infrastructure, and domestic innovation ecosystems.
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