Mark Hopkins. Image: Naoise Culhane.
Dell’s Mark Hopkins explores why Ireland should stop focusing on every ‘layer of the AI stack’ and instead work towards becoming Europe’s home for sovereign AI inferencing.
Despite a somewhat complex sounding name, sovereign AI inferencing is simply the process of running AI models on infrastructure that stays within a particular country or region and where it is subject to the places’ rules and regulations.
It enables organisations, governments and countries to manage their own AI activity and to ensure that it meets certain standards, often in areas such as security, compliance, risk management and even sustainability. It can also give a business or country a competitive edge in a landscape that is increasingly AI-driven.
With that in mind, many companies worldwide and indeed countries are putting more effort into developing their own technologies and infrastructure, both as a means of reducing external dependencies and maximising homegrown capabilities.
For Mark Hopkins, a managing director at Dell Technologies Ireland, now is the time for Ireland to take a closer look at how it wants to compete both at home and abroad. He is of the opinion that, rather than focusing on every layer of the AI stack, the country’s real focus should be on becoming Europe’s home for sovereign AI inferencing.
Hopkins said: “As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, it does so at a defining moment for Europe’s AI ambitions. The question facing Europe is no longer whether AI will transform economies and public services. It already is.
“The challenge now is more practical; where AI will run, who will control it and whether organisations can deploy it at scale while maintaining trust, security and sovereignty. I believe that challenge presents Ireland with a significant opportunity.”
Friendly neighbours
He explained that many of Ireland’s geographical neighbours are striving to emerge as leaders in AI development, semiconductor manufacturing and research excellence, and that amid some of the noise, the country has the potential to find opportunities elsewhere.
He said: “As we move from experimenting with AI to deploying it more broadly, inference, the process of putting AI models to work in the real world, could become Ireland’s defining contribution to Europe’s AI ecosystem. Ireland does not need to win the race to build every AI model. But it can become one of the places Europe trusts to run them.”
Hopkins added: “Training models may capture headlines, but inference powers the everyday applications we all depend upon. It enables government departments to improve citizen services, hospitals to support clinical workflows, tax authorities to analyse compliance risks and businesses to make faster decisions.
“Many European organisations will not build their own foundation models. Almost all, however, will need to deploy AI. The strategic question for Europe is not simply who trains AI, but who provides the trusted infrastructure that allows it to operate securely, responsibly and at scale.”
This, he said, is where Ireland can lead. He explained that Europe’s ambitions are suitably aligned with Ireland’s strengths, which include world-class digital infrastructure, data expertise, skilled talent, public and private sectors working closely together and decades of experience in digital technology.
Perhaps most importantly, he is of the opinion that AI sovereignty can address one of Europe’s most pressing challenges, the protection of highly sensitive materials.
He said: “For years, digital sovereignty was largely a policy discussion. Today, it is an operational requirement. Public bodies and highly regulated industries increasingly need assurance that sensitive data remains protected, AI systems are transparent and workloads operate within trusted regulatory frameworks.
“Inference is therefore becoming a strategic capability. It is where sovereignty moves from aspiration to execution. Organisations need confidence not only in AI models, but in the infrastructure, governance and safeguards surrounding them.”
Taking the lead
Hopkins said that as the holder of the EU Presidency, Ireland has a chance to drive the conversation on topics that affect both the country and the continent.
He said: “The National Digital and AI Strategy provides a clear direction, while Ireland’s growing ecosystem of AI innovators is helping turn ambition into practical capability. Combined with the country’s international technology relationships and enterprise base, these foundations give Ireland a credible route to AI leadership.”
But leadership will require focus and while “Ireland cannot be everything to everyone in the AI economy”, he explained, there is opportunity in playing to your strengths and owning a “critical part of the value chain”.
“Inference may not attract the same attention as the race to build ever-larger models. Yet it is where AI becomes trusted, operational and economically valuable. It is where public services improve, businesses become more competitive and Europe’s sovereignty ambitions become real.”
He added: “While Ireland holds the EU Presidency, it should champion the next phase of Europe’s AI agenda; turning ambition into trusted deployment at scale. Now Ireland must seize the opportunity. As Europe enters the deployment era of AI, inference can become Ireland’s national advantage within the European AI ecosystem.”
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.