Copyright

John Magnus Furseth Kallevik

Published On

2026-05-15

Language

  • English

Print Length

12 pages

THEMA

  • UY
  • QDTQ
  • KJ
  • JPP
  • KJG
  • YPMT

BISAC

  • COM004000
  • PHI005000
  • SOC071000
  • BUS070030
  • EDU039000

Keywords

  • artificial intelligence
  • AI ethics
  • intelligent systems
  • machine learning
  • AI impact
  • moral responsibility

1. Sovereignty and AI

The Weight We Choose

  • John Magnus Furseth Kallevik (author)
Chapter of: The Unbearable Light(ness) of AI: Bright Promises and Hidden Shadows of Artificial Intelligence

Who owns the ground beneath the digital landscape we now inhabit? This chapter argues that sovereignty in the age of AI is not about flags or borders but about the practical ability to steer your own digital fate: to know where your data lives, who can compel access, how decisions about you are made, and whether you can challenge them. Drawing on personal experience from three decades in information security, the chapter traces how openness was quietly converted into extraction, and how power concentrated among those who controlled the infrastructure, the training data, and the models. It examines how jurisdictions compete (GDPR, the US CLOUD Act, Chinese data laws), why a flag on a data centre means little if the keys belong to someone else, and what happens when an organization can no longer explain its own automated decisions. The chapter holds that both lightness (innovation, imagination, openness) and weight (regulation, accountability, ownership) are necessary, and that the only unbearable thing would be pretending we have no choice.

Contributors

John Magnus Furseth Kallevik

(author)
CTO and systems architect at University of Stavanger

John Magnus Furseth KallevikĀ is CTO and systems architect at the University of Stavanger, where he leads digital transformation as Head of the Section for Service Development. With over 30 years of experience bridging software, security, and human systems, he works in the space where machines meet people, designing technology that simplifies, supports, and connects. His background in music, visual media and cybersecurity informs his ability to translate complex systems into intuitive, engaging services.Kallevik regularly gives talks and workshops across sectors on AI, digital transformation, and information security, with a focus on inclusion, sustainability, and ethical technology use. He believes public services and education should empower people through technology, not overwhelm them, and that digital systems must remain rooted in human needs and democratic values.Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, kayaking, and climbing, and often finds his best ideas while immersed in nature, where observing systems in motion helps inspire new ways to simplify the digital ones.