Why Small Language Models Are the Real Path to Digital Sovereignty in the Global South
Beyond the Illusion of Sovereignty
Across the Global South, governments find themselves pulled into the race to build national large language models (LLMs). These efforts...
The Third Space Leader: Beyond Fantasies and Algorithms Part 2
Authors: Tuhu Nugraha and Taufan Teguh Akbari*
Why the Third Space Leader Matters Now
As if these psychological and digital pressures were not complex enough, the broader...
The Third Space Leader: Beyond Fantasies and Algorithms – Part 1
Authors: Tuhu Nugraha and Taufan Teguh Akbari
In many corners of the Global South, the citizens who struggle the most often dream of leaders who live...
Beyond Gaming: How Roblox Previews the Future Economy of the Global South
“The metaverse is not the end of games—it’s the beginning of shared experiences,” said David Baszucki, the founder of Roblox. His vision frames the...
Cross-Border Deepfake Threats: A Systemic Risk to Global Finance
Public debate on deepfake threats in finance remains muted compared to politics. A manipulated video of a candidate goes viral and sparks instant outrage;...
CBDCs in the Global South: Lessons from India, Nigeria, and Beyond
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are no longer theoretical. From the Bahamas’ Sand Dollar to Jamaica’s Jam-Dex, and Nigeria’s eNaira to India’s e-Rupee, countries...
mBridge and the Future of Finance: From BRICS Experiment to Global Dialogue
Imagine currencies flowing across invisible bridges—no longer slowed by borders, intermediaries, or the weight of dollar dominance. This is the vision behind mBridge, a...
Deepfakes and the Fragility of Democracy: Lessons from Indonesia for the Global South
In August 2025, I witnessed firsthand how Indonesia was shaken by a deepfake video of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani. The manipulated footage—showing her delivering...
QRIS Goes Global: Between Pride and Geopolitical Peril
When the Indonesian government announced its plan to expand QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard, a unified national QR code payment system) in cooperation...
Beyond Inclusion: Toward a Digital Future Co-Designed by the Global South
Artificial Intelligence (AI) today is heralded as a revolutionary force across industries. I was personally shocked when the Indonesian government quietly approved a cross-border...