We call the Wild West the historical events that took place after the American Civil War and the early years of the 20th century. It marks the expansion of the American frontier towards the Pacific. During this period, there was colonization and an intense and bloody expansion towards the west of the country, marked by a number of historical events, such as the gold rush, the deployment of the railway, the buffalo hunt until its extermination and the savage confrontation with the Native American tribes.
Today, this same ambition for expansion, I will not say the forms, manifests itself in a new scenario that we could well call the New West, and which is represented by contemporary California, in particular by Silicon Valley . It is now no longer a question of expanding physical borders, but rather those of the digital economy market, with artificial intelligence at the forefront.
It is no longer a question of occupying land, with the exception of that necessary for the installation of data and computing centers or company headquarters, but of colonizing the world of bits to increase profits. and also power, and thus continue to increase profits.
Only technological giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon or Meta, with the authorization of certain Chinese companies like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent or Huawei – although these are much smaller and operate mainly in their own market -, own the computing resources, data, experts and knowledge needed to be at the forefront of AI research and development. These companies are not only at the forefront of AI innovation, but also control critical infrastructure associated with data and high-capacity computing, as well as cloud computing platforms, all of which are essential to the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.
Several of these companies have market capitalizations that exceed two trillion dollars, or even three. Inditex, the world leader in the fashion sector, recently broke its record, surpassing 150 billion euros in valuation, which, although a huge figure, is an order of magnitude lower to the value of its technological peers.
This market value responds above all to the fact that these companies occupy clearly dominant positions in their sectors. Nvidia is the world leader in manufacturing chips that run the most complex and sophisticated AI programs.
Microsoft’s leadership in operating systems has diminished somewhat, but it remains enormous. Google controls more than 90% of the Internet search market, which also allows it to collect and analyze data on an unprecedented scale, continually improving its search engine and with it so-called programmatic advertising, a method automated buying and selling of digital advertising. spaces in real time.
It’s not just a market share problem. The world’s technological dependence on these companies has clear implications for national security and geopolitics, with governments around the world closely monitoring how these companies and their technologies, products and services can shift the global balance powers and even destabilize democracies. A recent UN report indicates that the development and use of AI cannot be left to the whims of markets and in the hands of a few companies.
It would be difficult to imagine a global scenario in which a handful of companies control critical sectors such as education, health, energy or transportation. Perhaps by imagining it, we will become more aware of the profound implications and risks of this being the case in the case of artificial intelligence. If a dozen companies controlled education worldwide, not only would the education system and methodology be standardized, but also the contents and goals of education themselves. It’s the same for everyone, one might think, but it certainly wouldn’t be the same for everyone, but rather: “we pay so much, we learn so much”.
The Wild West had the figure of the sheriff and nothing else. Plus, there were so many outlaws that the sheriff often did poorly. The New West needs other laws and a real capacity to enforce them.
