MaCIGA: The slogan we never knew we needed

Because while the world’s superpowers race to dominate AI, the essentials of modern civilization—water systems, roads, bridges, mobility infrastructure, and power grids—are dangerously underfunded and increasingly vulnerable.

The Forgotten Skeleton of Civilization

For years, politicians have debated who gets to own what while ignoring the one question that actually matters: What happens when nothing works anymore?

Traffic congestion worsens as decaying roads and bridges fall into disrepair. Mobility infrastructure—from public transport to electric vehicle networks—struggles to keep up with demand. Water systems leak, energy grids strain under peak loads, and cybersecurity gaps leave everything exposed to attack.

Meanwhile, AI, IoT, and automation are being stacked onto a crumbling foundation, creating a system where a single failure can ripple across entire economies.

Yet, investment in real infrastructure remains politically inconvenient, too often postponed until the next collapse forces action.

It’s not about countries anymore. It’s about survival.

The Battle for AI Dominance – And the Neglect of Reality

The irony? While critical infrastructure crumbles, the world’s economic superpowers are burning cash in an AI arms race like there’s no tomorrow.

· The U.S. just launched “Stargate”, a $500 billion AI research and development initiative.

· The EU, not wanting to be left behind, pledged €200 billion for AI programs to “ensure European digital sovereignty.”

Fantastic. Billions for AI dominance. Pennies for fixing roads, securing energy grids, and modernizing public transport.

This isn’t an argument against AI research. It’s an argument against prioritizing a hypothetical future while ignoring the collapsing present. Because what good is AI when the roads we drive on are full of potholes, the traffic systems are outdated, and power outages disrupt the very AI clusters we’re building?

We are optimizing for a future where AI makes decisions for us, while neglecting the infrastructure that keeps our society running.

MAGA + MEGA = MaCIGA

For decades, the U.S. and Europe have played a transatlantic game of competitive nationalism. But if there’s one thing that cyberwarfare, climate-driven disasters, and AI-powered threats have made clear, it’s this:

MAGA (Make America Great Again) and MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) have no future unless they work together on MaCIGA (Make Critical Infrastructure Great Again).

This isn’t a “nice to have” or a diplomatic handshake at another useless summit. It’s the only way forward.

· Shared cybersecurity intelligence – Because an attack on a U.S. traffic control system today is an attack on European supply chains tomorrow.

· Joint investments in infrastructure resilience – Because when one nation’s mobility system collapses, it disrupts economies across continents.

· Unified AI & cyber regulations – Because we don’t have time for 20 different rulebooks when AI-driven threats move at machine speed.

The Choice is Clear. The Action is Not.

The question is no longer “Should we secure our infrastructure?” It’s “Do we act before or after the next disaster?”

The MAGA vs. MEGA rivalry is outdated. The real battle is against failing infrastructure, cyber sabotage, and AI-fueled chaos. And the only winning move is collaboration.

Until then? Expect more road closures, more mobility disruptions, more cyberattacks on utilities, and more post-incident press conferences.

Because nothing says “We should have acted sooner” quite like a collapsed bridge, an empty reservoir, or a nationwide blackout.

Dimitri van Zantvliet is the Cybersecurity Director and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Dutch Railways (NS). He serves as co-chair of both the Dutch and European Rail ISAC and the Rail CISO Forum. In addition to being an international speaker and columnist, Dimitri is a cyber lecturer, editorial board member of the Global Railway Review journal and a co-founder of the Dutch CISO Foundation and CISO Community. As an Ambassador to the Global Council of Responsible AI and an angel investor in several startups, he actively contributes to the advancement of technology and cybersecurity and AI governance.

With three decades of experience as a CIO, CTO, and CISO, Dimitri has worked across multinational corporations, local governments, the Dutch Olympic Committee, and now Dutch Railways. A lifelong engineer, he holds an international master’s degree in business administration and a range of esteemed cybersecurity certifications, including CISSP, CRISC, CISA, CISM, CDPSE, CIPP/E, CIPM, and FIP.

Dimitri combines technical expertise with strategic vision, making him a prominent voice in the cybersecurity and AI governance critical infrastructure landscape.