The Automat

Field notes from the bleeding edge of business

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Who Owns the Model You Fine-Tuned? The Answer Surprises People

Drew Donaldson

Published on: 16/08/2026

Fine-tuned model ownership is decided by architecture, not IP law. What OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Azure, and open weights actually give you.

Digital Sovereigntyfine-tuned model ownershipAI vendor lock-inmodel weightsopen-weight modelsAI contracts

Sovereign AI on a Startup Budget: What's Actually Achievable

Drew Donaldson

Published on: 02/08/2026

Sovereign AI on a startup budget is achievable. A practical, budget-tiered guide to keeping real control of your AI and data without a datacenter.

sovereign AIdata sovereigntyself-hostingopen-weight modelsBYOKhybrid AIsmall business AI

Data Residency Isn't Sovereignty: The Distinction That Costs Companies

Drew Donaldson

Published on: 23/07/2026

Data residency vs data sovereignty: storing data in-region does not make it sovereign. Why the CLOUD Act and Schrems II mean location isn't control, and a 3-par

Digital Sovereigntydata residency vs data sovereignty2026enterprise AI buyersCLOUD Act

The Sovereignty Gap: Why Governments Don't Actually Control Their Cloud

Drew Donaldson

Published on: 03/07/2026

Sovereign cloud for government often means data residency, not real control. Who holds your encryption keys, the CLOUD Act exposure, and how to close the gap.

Digital Sovereigntysovereign cloud government2026government & public-sector ITencryption key custody