Silicon Sovereigns with Prof Simon Chesterman

Welcome to the IAICGF AI Safety Conference, a joint 3-Day colloquium between CAIDE University of Melbourne, Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and National University of Singapore.

Date: 26 - 28 November

Location: The Studio, Melbourne Connect

Silicon Sovereigns: AI, International Law, and the Tech-Industrial Complex

Artificial intelligence is reshaping science, society, and power. Yet many debates over its likely impact remain fixated on extremes: utopian visions of universal benefit and dystopian fears of existential doom, or an arms race between the U.S. and China, or the Global North and Global South. What’s missing is a serious conversation about distribution — who gains, who loses, and who decides. The global AI landscape is increasingly defined not just by geopolitical divides, but by the deepening imbalance between public governance and private control. As governments struggle to keep up, power is consolidating in the hands of a few tech firms whose influence now rivals that of states. If the twentieth century saw the rise of international institutions, the twenty-first may be witnessing their eclipse — replaced not by a new world order, but by a digital oligarchy. This presentation will explore what that shift means for international law, global equity, and the future of democratic oversight in an age of silicon sovereignty.

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