Horizon 2030 for Banking: The Autonomous Horizon – AI in 2030, with Julio Guijarro
By Ali Paterson · 10 September 2026
In brief: Julio Guijarro, EMEA Field CTO at Red Hat, describes digital sovereignty as control and trust over what an organisation is doing. He says owning the future of AI means owning the technology, the operations and alignment with regulation, that agents make this more important, and that openness should cover how models were built, their data sources and tooling, so decisions can be traced and verified
| Series | Horizon 2030 for Banking |
|---|---|
| Episode | The Autonomous Horizon: AI in 2030 |
| Speaker | Julio Guijarro, EMEA Field CTO, Red Hat |
| Topic | Digital sovereignty and agentic AI |
Quick Summary
In this episode of Horizon 2030 for Banking from Red Hat, Julio Guijarro, EMEA Field CTO, discusses digital sovereignty in the context of AI, and what it means for banks and financial services firms to take control of it.
How Does He Define Digital Sovereignty?
Julio describes digital sovereignty, or digital autonomy, as control and trust over what an organisation is doing. He says it is normally discussed in terms of three things: the technology, the operations and the regulations coming into place. To own the future of AI, an organisation needs to own the models, know and control what those models are doing, and understand how they are operated and connected to business processes.
Why Do Agents Make This More Important?
As the industry moves into agents and agentic systems, he says the questions become how to ensure those agents comply with regulation, do what they are meant to do, and do not go outside the domains the organisation is interested in.
What Does 'Open' Mean in Open AI?
Julio explains that for Red Hat, openness is not just about the models, which relate to one part of AI, generative AI. He notes that generative AI is very difficult and that nobody fully understands how it works. Openness, in his description, covers:
How the models were built.
The data sources used.
The tooling used to create them, so they can be recreated and executed.
He adds that this could eventually allow decisions to be traced all the way back, so that regulators can verify the answers agents give.
Find Out More
Red Hat Summit Connect comes to London on 8 October, bringing together the people building the next generation of banking infrastructure. Find out more and register here.
Watch every episode of Horizon 2030 for Banking from Red Hat on FF News, starting with the series trailer.
Frequently asked questions
How does Julio Guijarro define digital sovereignty?
As control and trust over what an organisation is doing, typically covering the technology, the operations and alignment with regulation.
What does owning the future of AI involve, in his view?
Owning the models, knowing and controlling what they do, and understanding how they are operated and connected to business processes, which he says becomes more important as organisations move to agents.
What does 'open' mean for AI according to Julio Guijarro?
More than the model itself: how the model was built, its data sources and the tooling used, so it can be recreated and executed, and so decisions can potentially be traced and verified by regulators.