The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is expanding a pilot programme designed to help governments develop AI-powered applications without relying entirely on major US-based cloud providers, with five additional countries now set to participate.
The initiative is being developed with the Switzerland-based DFINITY Foundation, the organisation behind the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP). According to Axios, the programme is responding to concerns among governments about data sovereignty, including where sensitive information used by AI systems is stored and who controls the underlying infrastructure.
The expansion follows an earlier partnership involving Pakistan, where DFINITY and the Pakistan Digital Authority agreed in February to work towards a dedicated Pakistan subnet on ICP. The partnership is intended to support sovereign digital infrastructure, local AI software development and national-scale applications while keeping sensitive data within Pakistan.
The new UNDP programme takes that idea into a broader international setting. Five countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia are being brought into the pilot, with participating governments expected to work with UNDP and DFINITY on specific public-sector applications.
The model is intended to give governments greater control over the infrastructure supporting their digital services and AI systems. Rather than depending exclusively on large international cloud providers, the participating countries will assess whether an alternative infrastructure model can meet their needs.
UNDP’s wider digital development work already focuses on helping governments build digital public infrastructure and strengthen national capabilities around data and technology. The organisation says its Digital Transformation Framework covers areas including people, connectivity, government, regulation and the economy, while its Digital Readiness Assessments have been deployed in more than 50 countries.
The organisation also identifies digital public infrastructure as a foundation for services involving identity, payments, data exchange and interactions between governments, businesses and citizens. UNDP stresses that such systems need to be safe, inclusive and interoperable.
Pakistan provides an early example of how the ICP infrastructure is being considered for government use. The Pakistan Digital Authority and DFINITY’s February agreement includes plans for a dedicated subnet, a national messenger application and access to AI development tools. The stated objective is to keep sensitive information in-country while providing infrastructure for AI-enabled systems.
The latest programme does not mean that participating governments have already moved all government data away from existing cloud providers. It is a pilot, and UNDP plans to assess the participating projects on factors including cost, usability and scalability before considering wider adoption.
That distinction matters as governments weigh the practical trade-offs involved in sovereign infrastructure. Moving away from established cloud providers can offer greater control over data location and infrastructure, but governments still have to address issues such as cost, technical capacity, cybersecurity, maintenance, interoperability and long-term support.
The initiative also comes as governments around the world explore how AI can be introduced into public services while maintaining control over sensitive information. UNDP and the Pakistani government held a high-level policy dialogue on AI for public services in February, with discussions focused on using AI for governance, public services and inclusive development.
For ICP and DFINITY, the programme offers an opportunity to test the technology in government settings beyond a single national deployment. For UNDP, the pilot provides a way to examine whether alternative infrastructure can address concerns around sovereignty and dependence on major technology providers.
The five-country expansion remains an evaluation exercise rather than evidence that governments are abandoning conventional cloud infrastructure. Its longer-term impact will depend on how the pilot projects perform and whether they can demonstrate practical advantages in cost, security, scalability and control over public-sector data.
Credits : @ICPapprentice
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