Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future of AI
The Institute of International Management and Entrepreneurship hosts monthly speaker series, featuring experts from leading institutions across the UK and around the world.
Each session explores a diverse range of timely and critical topics exploring how global economic, social, and institutional forces shape entrepreneurial practices and organizational dynamics across different cultural and structural contexts.
Description:
Beyond the hype of AI capabilities lies a fierce geopolitical and corporate struggle to build the next global empire. This talk unpacks the new logics of corporate expansion across the AI stack, conceptualizing AI as a general-purpose technology. Historically, the firms behind such technologies have faced immense challenges not only in driving adoption but, more critically, in capturing its value. In different ways, the big AI firms of today are all charting paths to overcome these problems – leading to a series of distinct expansionary strategies.
This corporate competition, in turn, is inextricably linked to the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. The presentation will critically assess the 'AI race' narrative, questioning its accuracy and exploring the complex interplay between national strategies and private sector interests. Ultimately, the talk aims to provide a new framework for understanding the strategic landscape of this critical 21st-century technology and the powerful forces shaping our digital future.
Speaker:
Dr. Nick Srnicek is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy at King’s College London. His research focuses on the digital economy, artificial intelligence, anti-work politics, and postcapitalist futures. He is the author of several influential books, including Inventing the Future: Post-capitalism and a World Without Work (2015), Platform Capitalism (2016), After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time (2023), and Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future of AI (2025), all of which have been widely translated and internationally recognised. His research has had significant public and policy impact, being widely discussed in major international media and informing political debates across several countries.