Silicon Empires

Since the emergence of ChatGPT, generative AI has been heralded as a technology poised to revolutionize our world. But beyond the hype and hyperbole, who truly wields power over this transformative technology? In Silicon Empires, Nick Srnicek explores the geopolitical economy of artificial intelligence, revealing how a handful of powerful corporations and states are engaged in a monumental struggle to control its future. Srnicek moves beyond the headlines to lay bare the elaborate strategies that these silicon empires - from tech giants to great powers - are deploying to capture the immense value of AI. This incisive analysis uncovers the deep-seated tensions between corporate ambitions and national interests, and the profound consequences of this new era of technological competition. As the race for AI supremacy accelerates, Srnicek compellingly demonstrates that the decisions being made in the boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the halls of government will shape the distribution of wealth and power on a global scale for decades to come. Now available as an audiobook.

1 / Where is the Value of Generative AI? Beyond ChatGPT The Generative AI Stack Tensions and Trajectories Conclusion 2 / Strategies of Capture Strategies of Capture Amazon and the Infrastructure Strategy OpenAI and the Frontier Strategy Google and the Conglomerate Strategy Meta and the Open Strategy Conclusion 3 / An Interregnum The Silicon Valley Consensus  Technodevelopmentalism Consensus Undone The Tech-Industrial Complex The Disorderly Expansion of Capital Conclusion 4 / The Future of Silicon Empires America’s Innovation Strategy China’s Diffusion Strategy Silicon Empires Conclusion