Once, big things came from big governments. Highways, space programs, the internet itself, each born from centralized vision and national ambition. But today, as Marc Dunkelman reflects in Why Nothing Works, even fixing a train station can take three decades. Bureaucratic inertia, fragmented coalitions, and eroded public trust have made “doing something great” the exception, not the norm.
This institutional gridlock raises a deeper question: if governments can no longer lead, who do we now expect to invent, connect, and rebuild the world? Are we moving toward an era where innovation becomes fragmented not just by industry, but by geography and ideology?
The age of digital sovereignty: cooperation fades, control rises
The modern internet was built on borderless ambition. But that idea is fading. As geopolitical rivalries intensify and trust in transnational tech companies erodes, a new era has begun—one defined by digital sovereignty.
The European Union leads with regulation: GDPR, the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, all aiming to give citizens more control over their data and digital experiences. China, meanwhile, has doubled down on a state-driven model: a trio of cybersecurity laws, AI content controls, and its expansive Digital Silk Road strategy export not just infrastructure but ideology. The United States, historically hands-off, now teeters between Big Tech freedom and rising calls for national tech infrastructure.
This isn’t just a regulatory split—it’s a philosophical one. The open internet is fracturing into competing systems. In place of a unified global web, we see the rise of sovereign clouds, national algorithm standards, and “compliant-by-design” AI frameworks.
In effect, countries are no longer just governing people, they’re governing code.
So, who drives progress in a divided world?
Where once we expected Silicon Valley or state capitals to chart the path forward, the reality now is far more complex. Innovation is emerging from coalitions of actors: civic technologists, local governments, mission-driven startups, and regional alliances. These entities operate faster than national governments, but with less accountability. And while decentralization enables agility, it also risks disconnection: from citizens, from ethics, from each other.
The idea of a “digital public space” is under threat. If AI, infrastructure, and data flows are shaped by geopolitical tensions and corporate interests, we risk creating a world where innovation doesn’t unite, it divides.
And yet, this tension might also be the birthplace of a new kind of progress a more distributed, more pluralistic model, where global challenges are met not by singular powers, but by many voices working in cautious coordination.
From institutions to individuals: The rise of participatory power
The most profound change might be this: progress is no longer just about what governments or companies do, it’s about what people decide to participate in. A growing class of digital citizens isn’t waiting for permission to shape the future. They are building tools, communities, and norms from the ground up.
From climate tech cooperatives to AI alignment working groups, and from DAO-governed platforms to creators rewriting economic logic, innovation is being reclaimed by the networked individual. These people aren’t necessarily backed by billion-dollar budgets or national mandates, but they are agile, globally connected, and values-driven.
Consider the movement toward “sovereign clouds” not just as a technical development, but a metaphor. Nations want to protect their data. But so do users. Personal servers, encrypted platforms, and federated systems like Mastodon point toward a world where control is localized, not lost.
This is the promise and challenge of a participatory era. The tools to build are more accessible than ever. But with power comes the burden of coherence. Without coordination, even the most vibrant innovation may struggle to scale. And without trust, even the best code can’t connect communities.
