For centuries monarchs, kings and emperors have ruled the world and remained in full power. During the past centuries, companies were established in a capitalistic society. The authorities are still in control over these companies, but this is set to change in the future through the increased power of IT companies in society. Will Mark Zuckerberg be the most powerful human on earth soon?
During the last decade, three trends have emerged that put power relations between governments and IT companies under pressure. First, IT companies are collecting an increased amount of information about consumers using advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. This gives them the ability to influence the decision-making and opinions of citizens. The Cambridge Analytica scandal has already demonstrated that companies can use personal information for propaganda purposes manipulating political views. For instance, to what extent would Facebook use personal information if Mark Zuckerberg runs for president?
Second, over the past decade, governmental organizations have been migrating their documents and operational process to the Cloud. Governments buy computing power and data storage from a few IT companies, which are Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. What if these IT companies decide to deny access to data storage or shut down important systems? Would that give IT companies a powerful bargaining positioning?
Third, IT companies extend the number of products and services they provide, which gives them a powerful position in core aspects of the economy and daily life in addition to their influence in the IT domain. Google is working on self-driving cars; Microsoft develops a HoloLens for the US army and Facebook has introduced its own currency Libra. When the Libra has gained substantial ground, can it be guaranteed that Facebook does use its currency to blackmail a weak government economically and politically? In the future, IT companies might own most of the products and services we use in society, which means we are completely dependent on these companies.
Over the last years, these trends have started to unfold with little interference from governments. On the contrary, governments are eagerly using the services of IT companies without realizing bringing in a Trojan horse. What is your opinion on the future position of IT companies?
References:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/7/19/the-rise-of-corporate-nations
