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PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3-
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VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260904T112823Z
DTSTART:20261007T153000Z
DTEND:20261007T170000Z
SUMMARY:GDI Lecture: The Rulers: Corporate Power in the age of AI and the
  cloud
UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}qj-mtmvelul
 -ll2xt1
DESCRIPTION:Why are Amazon\, Microsoft and Google different from every ot
 her company and why should people and governments care? The Rulers expla
 ins how the power of these three giants lies in their dominance over tod
 ay’s control technologies\, from simple digital tools to frontier AI mod
 els\, deployed within and beyond the tech sector. Combining more than 10
 0 interviews at the world's largest firms with data on corporate venture
  capital\, acquisitions\, AI conference presentations and patents\, Rika
 p shows that even the world’s largest corporations bow to these cloud gi
 ants. She presents a unique and empirically grounded theory of how corpo
 rate power is structured and exercised\, and how those companies control
  AI value chains from their clouds.\n\nToday’s top companies rely on dig
 ital technologies rented on cloud marketplaces to plan their production 
 networks\, replace and discipline workers and influence consumers. These
  firms extract value and capture knowledge from organisations within the
 ir own spheres of control by accepting a degree of subordination to clou
 d rulers. Control is not simply ceded to AI models\, but to those who de
 termine how the models are produced and sold. And these are\, primarily\
 , Amazon\, Microsoft and Google through their clouds. State representati
 ves change with elections. But Amazon\, Microsoft and Google have become
  capitalism’s de facto unelected rulers and AI has only made them even m
 ore powerful.\n\nDr. Cecilia Rikap is an Associate Professor in Economic
 s and the Head of Research at the University College London’s Institute 
 for Innovation and Public Purpose. Cecilia’s work analyses corporate pow
 er and how knowledge extractivism leads to intellectual monopolisation. 
 Her most recent research focuses on artificial intelligence\, the cloud\
 , Big Tech dominance\, AI-driven geopolitical tensions\, digital soverei
 gnty and how digital dependence constrains development. She has publishe
 d four books on these topics. The award-winning book Capitalism\, Power 
 and Innovation: Intellectual Monopoly Capitalism Uncovered\, The Digital
  Innovation Race co-authored the book\, and her two most recent books\, 
 “Teoría de la Dependencia Digital. Soberanía y Desarrollo en el Capitali
 smo del Siglo XXI” and “The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and
  the Cloud” both published in 2026
STATUS:TENTATIVE
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
CLASS:PUBLIC
LOCATION:G32 \, Humanities Bridgeford Street\, Manchester
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