GDI Lecture: The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud

GDI Lecture: The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud

by Cecilia Rikap · View the channel on PSI

Humanities, Social Sciences & Thought Economics & Finance KCEconomicsKCPPolitical economy
🎙 Cecilia Rikap 👥 3K 📅 October 12, 2026 ⏱ 54 min 👁 1 📄 original study 🧭 2026-10-12
Available in: English (current) Français

Keywords

intellectual monopolycorporate powercloud infrastructureAI research networksdependency theory

Summary

Cecilia Rikap presents her book ‘The Rulers’ at the Global Development Institute, examining how corporate power has transformed in the age of AI and cloud computing. She argues that leading corporations now exercise ‘control beyond ownership’ through intellectual monopolies, systematically capturing knowledge, data, and narratives as intangible assets. She distinguishes the 50 largest corporations between natural resource extractors and intellectual monopolies, explaining how the latter orchestrate innovation ecosystems with a core-periphery structure rooted in dependency theory. Presenting empirical network analysis, she shows that Microsoft and Alphabet sit at the center of frontier AI research despite not publishing the most papers, giving them agenda-setting power over research directions. She highlights a stark asymmetry: while 90% of Microsoft’s scientific papers are co-authored externally, only 1% of its patents are co-owned, revealing systematic knowledge appropriation. The cloud infrastructure is identified as the key differentiator, positioning Amazon, Microsoft, and Google as essential intermediaries for AI adoption across all sectors. She argues that startups, far from challenging incumbents, reinforce the dominance of these core firms through venture capital dependency and ecosystem integration. She concludes that AI serves as a ‘Trojan horse’ driving organizations into cloud dependence, reinforcing digital monopolies globally.

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Critical Evaluation

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The lecture offers substantial intellectual value through its synthesis of political economy, innovation studies, and empirical network analysis. Rikap’s central contribution is reframing corporate power as ‘control beyond ownership’ exercised through intellectual monopolies that dynamically capture intangible assets while orchestrating ecosystems of formally independent but de facto dependent actors. Her argumentation is logically structured: she moves from theoretical frameworks (dependency theory, national innovation systems) to concrete empirical evidence, including over 100 interviews with AI scientists and R&D directors across 55 multinationals, network analysis of frontier AI conferences, and patent/publication data. The core-periphery framework applied to corporate innovation systems provides a compelling lens for understanding why startups and peripheral actors systematically lose despite co-creating frontier knowledge. The empirical contrast between 90% external co-authorship of papers versus only 1% co-owned patents is particularly powerful evidence of knowledge appropriation. However, the argumentation is primarily from a single critical political economy perspective, and the lecture does not engage with counterarguments about the innovation-enhancing effects of platform ecosystems or the welfare gains from AI adoption.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The scientific rigor is high: Rikap is an associate professor at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and the research draws on established academic frameworks (global value chain literature, innovation systems theory, dependency theory). She presents original empirical research, including network analysis of AI conferences and patent data, with transparent methodology. The distinction between her peer-reviewed published research and book-specific interview data is clearly indicated. Sources referenced include her published academic work, collaborations with scholars like Bengt-Åke Lundvall (on corporate innovation systems) and colleagues on ‘means of information and knowledge appropriation’, plus a UN report on AI inequalities she is contributing to. However, the video description provides minimal contextual or source information — no links to the book, papers, or reports are included. The title accurately reflects the content: the lecture is exactly about corporate power in the age of AI and the cloud, as promised. No systematic biases or unsubstantiated claims were detected, though her political economy perspective shapes the interpretative framework.

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Title / Content Match

The title accurately reflects the content: a lecture by Cecilia Rikap about her book on corporate power in the age of AI and cloud computing.

Quality & Reliability

8/10

High-quality academic lecture by a recognized expert (UCL IIPP) based on original research including 100+ interviews, network analysis, and patent data. The argumentation is rigorous but reflects a single critical political economy perspective without engaging counterarguments.

Key Moments

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

Cited Sources

  • The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud (Verso) — Rikap's book presented in this lecture, published by Verso and mentioned as available at Blackwells.
  • UN report on AI inequalities — Mentioned by Rikap as a report she is contributing to, updating data on AI scientific publications.
  • Research on 'means of information and knowledge appropriation' with Annabelle Susan and Cedric Duran — Collaborative research mentioned as framework for understanding the materiality of intangibles and control infrastructure.
  • Corporate innovation systems concept with Bengt-Åke Lundvall — Conceptual framework combining global value chain and national innovation systems literatures, developed with Lundvall.

Contribution & Novelties

The lecture’s original contribution lies in bridging dependency theory and innovation studies to explain contemporary corporate power, proposing the concepts of ‘control beyond ownership’ and ‘corporate innovation systems’ to capture how intellectual monopolies orchestrate knowledge production while appropriating disproportionate value. The empirical evidence — showing Microsoft and Alphabet at the center of frontier AI research networks, and the stark asymmetry between co-authored publications and co-owned patents — provides concrete documentation of knowledge predation. The framing of cloud infrastructure as the material substrate of intellectual monopolies and AI as a ‘Trojan horse’ for cloud dependency offers a novel critique of current AI adoption dynamics.

Pour aller plus loin :

  • Global value chain — Foundational concept for understanding control beyond ownership in production networks.
  • Dependency theory — Intellectual basis for the core-periphery framework applied to corporate ecosystems.
  • Innovation system — Theoretical context for Rikap’s critique of national innovation systems and proposition of corporate innovation systems.
  • Big Tech — Background on the major digital platforms discussed (Amazon, Microsoft, Google).

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Radar Profile

The profile shows strong quality and reliability scores reflecting Rikap's academic credentials and evidence-based approach, with slightly lower technical and quantity scores due to the lecture format's selectivity. The balance suggests a well-grounded, insightful presentation more notable for depth and rigor than for exhaustive coverage.

Reliability 8/10