Resisting Big Tech Empires: The Fight for the Future
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Eight of the ten richest men in the world built their fortunes through Big Tech. As artificial intelligence drives unprecedented profits and market power, a handful of corporations are reshaping economies, politics and societies on a global scale.
In this episode of COUNTER•POWER, host Nick Dearden is joined by Sofia Scasserra of the Transnational Institute and Anita Gurumurthy of IT for Change to examine the rise of the new tech empires, the political power of Silicon Valley's billionaires, and the growing resistance to their influence around the world.
Together they explore whether today's tech giants are simply the modern successors to the robber barons of the nineteenth century—or whether we are entering something entirely new: a world of techno-feudalism, where control over digital infrastructure and data underpins unprecedented forms of economic and political power.
The conversation ranges from the impact of Big Tech on economies in the Global South to the growing debate around digital sovereignty, and asks what progressive movements should be demanding in the face of AI-driven transformation.
In this episode:
- Why opposition to Big Tech has grown so rapidly in recent years
- The essential role of trade unions and what they need to do to win back younger generations
- The promises and pitfalls of digital sovereignty
- Resistance to AI infrastructure, including struggles against data centres
- Lessons from movements challenging Big Tech across Asia and Latin America
As governments compete for technological supremacy and corporations consolidate ever greater power, this episode asks a crucial question: what would a democratic, just and internationally accountable digital future look like—and how do we fight for it?
Guests
Anita Gurumurthy is Executive Director of IT for Change, a Bengaluru-based organisation working on issues of digital justice, governance and development.
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Sofia Scasserra is a researcher and fellow at the Transnational Institute based in Argentina, focusing on digital economies, trade and the political economy of technology.
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COUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance.
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Music(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)