Who Controls AI? Private Power and the Politics of AI Governance

Welcome and Introduction Prof. Rolf Weder
Speaker Prof. Stephen Weymouth
Discussion with the Audience

A small number of private companies now control the advanced chips, cloud infra- structure, and AI models that governments increasingly need for economic competiti- veness and national security. That creates a new political problem: states depend on technologies they do not fully control. In this talk, Prof. Steven Weymouth argues that governments are trying to reassert au- thority over AI through different governan- ce strategies. The United States is building selective alliances with other states and firms, while the European Union is using regulation and market access to project its authority beyond its borders. These strate- gies may protect national interests in the short run, but they are also fragmenting the global digital economy into competing blocs. The result is a new struggle over who controls AI: governments, firms, or the alliances between them.
The talk highlights a broader shift from multilateral cooperation to an era in which control over AI infrastructure has become a central feature of international politics.

The yearly Public Event is part of the Zaeslin+Maag Program of Business, Law and Economic Policy