The Brazilian Institute for Teaching, Development and Research (IDP) received, this Monday (3), the economist and researcher Cecilia Rikap, associate professor at University College London (UCL), for the launch and discussion of the work The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud, published internationally by Verso publishing house.
Held at the IDP campus in Brasília, the meeting brought together researchers, students, and professionals interested in the economic, technological, and regulatory impacts of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. The event marked one of the first in-person launches of the book in the world, coinciding with the week of its international publication.
During the lecture, Cecilia Rikap presented the main conclusions of the work, which analyzes how companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google They consolidated their position as protagonists in the global cloud computing infrastructure. According to the author, these corporations began to exercise what she calls... "intellectual monopolies", concentrating knowledge, data and digital infrastructure and assuming a strategic role in the organization of the contemporary economy.
Following this, a panel discussion was held that delved deeper into the themes addressed in the publication and promoted reflection on the regulatory, economic, and institutional challenges arising from the growing concentration of power in large technology companies. Participants in the discussion included... Lorena Giuberti Coutinho, director of the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) and professor at IDP, economist, PhD from Maastricht University and former researcher at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she worked on research and policies focused on the digital economy; and Paul Henry of OliveiraPaulo Henrique, Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), moderated the debate. An economist with a master's degree and currently pursuing a doctorate in Public Sector Policy and Economics from FGV-EAESP, Paulo Henrique is also a researcher at CEDIS-IDP and CEBRAP, as well as the executive coordinator of the initiative. Market Power and Public Interest, from FGV Direito SP.
The debate provided a rich exchange of perspectives on competition, data protection, digital sovereignty, and artificial intelligence governance, reinforcing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the transformations brought about by global technological platforms.
Cecilia Rikap is an associate professor of Economics and Head of Research at Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) from University College London, in addition to being a researcher at CONICET, in Argentina. She is the author of Capitalism, Power and Innovation: Intellectual Monopoly Capitalism Uncovered (Routledge, 2021), winning work of Joan Robinson Award from the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE), and co-author of The Digital Innovation Race (Palgrave, 2021).
By promoting the launch of a work of international relevance and bringing together experts to discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence and cloud computing on the economy, innovation, and regulation, IDP reaffirms its commitment to knowledge production and qualified debate on the main technological and institutional challenges of today.
