How Cloud Giants Wield Their Power Against Us All—With Cecilia Rikap
Paris Marx talks to Cecilia Rikap about how networks of corporate power systematically influence global politics and the economy.

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As the power of big tech continues to grow, it's more important than ever to understand how these companies use infrastructure and intellectual monopolies to shape more than just the digital world. Cecilia Rikap joins Paris Marx to discuss how these networks of corporate power operate, including how they are systematically used to influence global politics, the economy, and how society views the world.
Cecilia Rikap is an Associate Professor at University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and the author of The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud.
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US President Donald Trump, Open AI CEO Sam Altman, and Google DeepMind Demis Hassabis during a meeting of G7 members, partner countries, and artificial intelligence business leaders as part of the G7 summit in eastern France, on June 17, 2026.
(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)As the power of Big Tech continues to grow, it’s more important than ever to understand how these companies use infrastructure and intellectual monopolies to shape more than just the digital world. Cecilia Rikap joins Paris Marx to discuss how these networks of corporate power operate, including how they are systematically used to influence global politics, the economy, and how society views the world.
Cecilia Rikap is an associate professor at University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and the author of The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Not long ago, tech jobs were sought after for their security, benefits, wages, and the progressive values promoted by Silicon Valley companies. But now workers are barely hanging on. Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan join Paris Marx to discuss the state of worker organizing in the tech industry, including how it’s changed since the mid-2010s and where it needs to go from here.
Clarissa Redwine is a tech worker and labor activist. JS Tan is a PhD candidate at MIT and writes the Value Added newsletter. They are the authors of Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry.
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