The quote “Data is the new oil” was coined by British mathematician Clive Humby in 2006.
Today, modern GPUs act as the refineries for this oil, and data-driven AI systems are the products.
Just as gasoline powers machines for physical labor, AI now powers many forms of mental labor.
This cognitive force, flowing across the World Wide Web, drives systems that are reshaping our world much as electricity did, and it is becoming a key engine of economic growth (Greg Brockman).
AI boosts our productivity, allowing us to create at a lower cost than before the AI revolution (Jim Cramer).
As AI becomes more central to the economy, it also changes who holds power in society.
Agrarian societies produced an aristocracy in which landowners held power.
The Industrial Revolution brought the bourgeoisie to the forefront, as those who owned machines controlled production.
Now, the rise of AI centers introduces a new form of technocracy.
Those who own and manage data flows gain growing influence over society (Richard David Precht).
This rising influence is widely recognized, not only by philosophers but also by world leaders.
Putin once remarked, “Whoever takes the lead in AI will rule the world.”
Countries and companies that control these data flows shape how we think and work.
Meta has become the world’s best scalable sociologist, and OpenAI the world’s best scalable psychologist.
AI is learning more and more about human societies.
Because of AI’s growing power, every country is caught in an AI arms race where bombing each other’s data centers could become a real threat (Eliezer Yudkowsky).
What used to be the main bottleneck, chip supply (see older post), is no longer the biggest concern.
Industry leaders and experts now argue that energy has become an even greater challenge (Satya Nadella).
At the same time, ethical debates and regulations slow the construction of new power plants and AI infrastructure (Alex Karp).
Without this infrastructure, even the best researchers and engineers cannot compete.
Countries that fall behind will not only lose ground in technology but will also become dependent on those who lead, forced to follow their rules, accept their control, and adopt their ethics.