DrupalCamp Ottawa 2025

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Speaker Bio

Code as Constitution: Building Public Digital Infrastructure We Can Actually Trust

Drupal, AI, and the Architecture of Digital Sovereignty

Date

2026-05-01

Location

DrupalCamp Ottawa, Canada

Speakers

Mike Gifford (CivicActions)

Solving More Than Is Recognized

Drupal is already playing a strong role

  • Publishing at scale
  • Accessibility / security
  • Flexible, multilingual delivery
  • Complex workflows
  • Open source
  • Vendor-neutral
  • Globally maintained
  • Built locally

A stable interface for change

Drupal is infrastructure, bridging systems

  • Learning community
  • Extensive well-organized content
  • Forward-looking (Remember RDFa)
  • Lots of documentation & examples
  • API-first architecture
  • Well-structured content
  • Extensible modules
  • Almost built for AI

Foundation for Independence

It isn't just about the code

  • Multiple providers
  • Vibrant ecosystem
  • Legal consistency (GPL)
  • Many hosting options
  • Continuity & workflow flexibility
  • History of reduced risk
  • Options to do it internally
  • Reduced cost of ownership

What AI in Drupal Looks Like

Content + AI & Integration Patterns

  • Summarization / Translation
  • Content generation / Search
  • New accessibility improvements
  • Speed of development
  • External APIs for external data
  • Choices of local models
  • Hybrid systems
  • Your Agentic CMS

The Risk: Proprietary Integration

Vendor-lock in with AI is riskier than just the code

  • Single AI provider
  • No abstraction layer
  • No independent validation
  • Clear lack of sovereignty
  • Hard to switch when prices increase
  • Difficult to audit between versions
  • Just not yours to control
  • Just like proprietary technology

Drupal Allows AI Flexibility

We should choose based on what allows us control

Models

  • Large Language Models (LLMs)
  • Small Language Models (SLMs)
  • Proprietary or Open Source AI
    • Training data & weights

Deployment

  • Cloud
  • Local
  • Hybrid
  • Grid-aware

Platforms == Constitutions

Systems we choose limit our choices & are buttressed

  • How digital tools are accessed
  • What software can be used
  • If we can share our work
  • What can be known
  • Intellectual Property
  • Contract rights
  • Silos of responsibility

Where Control Actually Resides

Most of the world is leasing the bulk of software from US owned companies

These companies own:

  • Infrastructure
  • Software
  • Patents
  • Roadmap

The governance of this software is almost entirely outside of Canada

The future will be controlled by those that own digital (including AI)

☹ Canada's Digital Sovereignty ☹

Canadian ventures with valuable IP don't stay that way

Today's focus

  • Data sovereignty
  • AI compute ownership

Missing

  • Software control
  • Platform control

Small Language Models (SLMs)

Open Source SLMs help innovation

  • Domain-specific customization
  • Lower cost maintenance
  • Audit-ability
  • Cross-training for models
  • Local deployment
  • Predictable outcomes
  • Open source collaboration
  • Ownership and knowledge will stay Canadian

Brussels, Berlin, Estonia, Oh My!

Open source events, Europe is happening!

  • EU Open Source Week (FOSDEM)
  • Germany's Sovereign Tech Agency
  • EU Sovereign Tech Fund (proposal)
  • EU is investing in open ecosystems

International Momentum

Europe is leading the way!

  • European procurement reform
  • Government Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs)
  • Discussions in the European Parliament
  • UN Open Source Week

Trends

  • Dangers with US Technology
  • Reducing dependency on US
  • Increased domestic & EU control

Germany’s ZenDiS: Beyond Funding

Digital Sovereignty as a Federal Mandate

  • The Center for Digital Sovereignty
  • Wholly-owned federal agency (ZenDiS)
  • Managing the openDesk suite
  • Goal: Total exit from MS 365/Google
  • Open CoDE Repository
  • Single source for all public code
  • Taxpayer funded = Taxpayer owned
  • Standardizing OSS procurement

Sovereignty isn't a checkbox; it’s a dedicated institutional capacity.

The EU AI Act & Audit-ability

The "Brussels Effect" is (hopefully) coming to Canada

  • The Right to Know
  • Mandatory audits for "High Risk" AI
  • Requires transparency of training data
  • Explicit protections for OSS developers
  • Mirroring EU's risk-based approach
  • You cannot audit a "Black Box"
  • Proprietary AI = Unverifiable Government
  • Is it acting on our best interest?

Canada: Builders or Tenants?

Escaping the "Branch Plant" Digital Economy

  • The "Tenant" Risk
  • Relying on US-SaaS exports data
  • No control over the roadmap
  • Profits leave the country
  • The "Builder" Opportunity
  • Drupal keeps IP in Canada
  • Local agencies = Local experts
  • Procurement as Industrial Policy

Europe is investing in "Strategic Autonomy." Why is Canada still paying rent?

Open Source as Public Infrastructure

Common public investments are like roads

  • Must be maintained
  • Must be inspectable
  • Must be shared
  • We all depend on them
  • Transparency
  • Better government services
  • Opportunities for entrepreneurs
  • Economic growth
  • Greater security

Small Business Matters

Small businesses drive Drupal's development

  • Drive innovation
  • Reduce concentration risk
  • Enable competition
  • Employ a lot of Canadians
  • Support the local economy & tax base

They are often excluded from most government procurement

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