Aim States

The UK has been warned about the risk of becoming an AI customer rather than an AI creator. What happens when a society depends on infrastructure it doesn't control? We've traditionally thought about sovereignty in terms of territory, borders and political institutions. But as more of our lives move onto digital systems, technological independence could become just as important. Could digital-first communities approach this differently from traditional nations, building the infrastructure and institutions they want from the ground up?

This time around, we’re imagining an Aim State for a community that could really benefit from one: students. Imagine students across the globe, at the same grade level, learning, collaborating, and building together, regardless of where they live. One could bring together Grade 12 students from across the world. Another could connect university students studying advertising, engineering, or medicine. Others could be built for young researchers, aspiring founders, or people learning new skills outside traditional education. Each community could have its own shared goals, resources, projects, and ways of creating opportunities for its members. Because students aren't one homogeneous group. Their needs change depending on what they're learning, what they're building, and where they want to go. Learning could look very different when community comes first.

Some really interesting concepts being discussed in real time. Don't miss it!

Exit the old system. Build something new. Find your people. Scale the network. That’s one way to think about network states. When people stop waiting for systems to change and start building their own!

October is looking interesting 👀 This year's Network State Conference is happening in Singapore on Oct 9, bringing together people building, funding and experimenting with new kinds of communities. From Vitalik Buterin to Zooko Wilcox and Richard Teng, the lineup is packed. Can’t wait to see what conversations come out of this one! ns.com/conference

At the recent G20 Innovation Ministerial, the US pushed for a lighter-touch approach to AI regulation, arguing against rules that could slow down innovation. Meanwhile, the EU is moving ahead with its AI Act, bringing in a more structured, risk-based approach to governing AI. Two major parts of the world. Two very different ideas of how AI should be governed. AI governance isn't going to take shape in one universal way. Different countries will make different choices about what matters more: speed, safety, innovation, transparency, sovereignty, control. But those choices could eventually shape the AI people actually get to live with. So, is it fair if where you live determines what kind of AI future you get? Or is that simply what happens when technology meets governance?

A really interesting question from this piece: Can digital networks become infrastructure for collective self-governance? Definitely worth a read.

Okay, this one is our favourite so far. Imagine an Aim States for the developer of an app, exclusive to its users. An app that becomes big enough to develop its own culture! Your users could join as citizens. They could create profiles and identities. They could form groups, organise activities, propose ideas, bring their friends in. They could contribute to the culture of the community. Right now, developers have to piece that community together across different platforms. But with Aim States, you could have a place where the users of your app could actually participate in the community they’ve helped create. And you could turn your audience into a community.

What happens when a problem belongs to more than one government? A railway crosses states. A river crosses districts. A supply chain crosses borders. A climate event can affect an entire region. Governance, however, is still largely organised around jurisdictions. India's PRAGATI platform is one example of a different approach, bringing multiple governments, departments and infrastructure projects into a shared coordination system. Because interconnected problems need interconnected governance. The next evolution of governance could just be about making them better connected.

One of the things we think about a lot at AIM States is what happens when communities start connecting with each other. And there’s a concept used called ‘entanglement.’ It sounds a little technical, but it’s actually quite simple. Imagine two communities that start working together and sharing things; resources, opportunities, knowledge, people. Eventually, their success becomes connected. What happens to one can have an impact on the other. So entanglement is really about going beyond just being connected. It’s about becoming invested in each other.

Brazil is investing around $444 million in AI infrastructure; and deliberately splitting the projects between Chinese and US technology companies. Why? To make sure its AI future isn't dependent on a single foreign technology provider. It's a fascinating shift in what sovereignty means. A country's independence was once tied to its territory, borders and natural resources. But now, we are left with a new question to ponder upon: Can you be digitally sovereign if the infrastructure your future depends on belongs to someone else?

The UK has helped more than 1 million people get connected in the first year of its Digital Inclusion Action Plan. 1 million+ people helped get connected. 22,000+ devices donated. £11.9M invested in local digital-inclusion projects. That's more than a connectivity programme. It's a sign of how quickly “internet access” is changing from a convenience into infrastructure. You can't build a digital society and leave people outside it. As work, services, education and communities move online, access to the internet increasingly means access to society itself.

The first generation to grow up truly connected across borders isn't just consuming the internet. They're building on it. Communities. Careers. Friendships. Movements. And we’re looking forward to what’s ahead. #InternationalYouthDay

Been a while since we’ve explored an Aim States imagined, so here’s an interesting one: An Aim States imagined for filmmakers! Film has never been a one-person medium. Writers. Directors. Actors. Cinematographers. Editors. Composers. Designers. What if the community around filmmaking was just as collaborative as the medium itself? An independent filmmaker in Kerala finding a cinematographer in Seoul, an editor in Nairobi and a composer in Berlin. Same project. Different countries. That's what a truly borderless creative community could look like.