As hyperscale cloud infrastructure becomes part of the foundation of modern government, digital sovereignty is evolving into a global strategic challenge. Meridian Exchange 2026 explores how governance, resilience and trusted digital ecosystems may shape the next era of national infrastructure.
Dutch artist Denise Buisman Pilger’s selection for a solo exhibition at Canada’s World of Threads Festival highlights more than an individual achievement. It reflects a broader cultural shift, where craftsmanship, materiality and human creativity are gaining renewed significance in the age of artificial intelligence.
Tungsten prices have surged by more than 550%, exposing a hidden vulnerability at the heart of the AI economy. As China tightens control over critical minerals, the race for artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a race for the materials beneath modern technology.
Artificial intelligence may not be running out of ideas, but it may be approaching the practical limits of electrons. As communication becomes increasingly expensive, the future of computing may depend less on processing information and more on moving it efficiently.
Berkshire Hathaway’s vast liquidity is often interpreted as caution. Yet in an age increasingly defined by uncertainty, cash may represent something more profound: reserve capacity, strategic optionality and the ability to act when resilience becomes more valuable than efficiency.
BT and Verizon’s proposed joint venture may signal more than consolidation. It suggests that telecommunications is evolving into a platform business where sovereignty, cloud connectivity and AI infrastructure increasingly converge into a new global enterprise layer.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly associated with massive data centres and cloud infrastructure. Yet a new generation of AI chips may begin moving intelligence closer to where people actually live, work and make decisions. The rise of the AI PC could offer an early glimpse of a more distributed future for computing.
Artificial intelligence is often presented as a software revolution. Yet behind every AI system lies a growing physical infrastructure of data centres, power grids and energy networks. This series explores how America’s energy system is adapting to support the rising demands of the AI age.
Europe’s new technology strategy is not about decoupling from the United States. It is about becoming indispensable within the infrastructures, supply chains and innovation ecosystems that underpin the digital economy, reshaping the future of transatlantic technological cooperation and resilience.
Nvidia is pouring billions into photonics as the future of artificial intelligence shifts beyond the GPU. Yet a growing debate suggests the next bottleneck may not lie in silicon photonics itself, but in the packaging, assembly and integration systems needed to connect AI infrastructure at unprecedented scale.
