Silicon Empires, Nick Srnicek
Silicon Empires, Nick Srnicek
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Silicon Empires
The Fight for the Future of AI

Author: Nick Srnicek

Narrator: Tom Beyer

Unabridged: 7 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 01/07/2026


Synopsis

Since the emergence of ChatGPT, generative AI has been heralded as a technology poised to revolutionize our world. But beyond the hype and hyperbole, who truly wields power over this transformative technology?

In Silicon Empires, Nick Srnicek explores the geopolitical economy of artificial intelligence, revealing how a handful of powerful corporations and states are engaged in a monumental struggle to control its future. Srnicek moves beyond the headlines to lay bare the elaborate strategies that these silicon empires—from tech giants to great powers—are deploying to capture the immense value of AI.

This incisive analysis uncovers the deep-seated tensions between corporate ambitions and national interests, and the profound consequences of this new era of technological competition. As the race for AI supremacy accelerates, Srnicek compellingly demonstrates that the decisions being made in the boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the halls of government will shape the distribution of wealth and power on a global scale for decades to come.

This book is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the critical battle for the future of AI.

About Nick Srnicek

Nick Srnicek is a lecturer at City University. He is the author of Platform Capitalism and After Work: What's Left and Who Cares? (with Helen Hester).


Reviews

Goodreads review by David on January 07, 2026

This is a gangbusters book, and an urgently needed one at that. For the gangs -- megabucks tech corporations in alliance with political classes –- are on a roll. Their Next Big Thing is artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that for some observers poses extinction risks on a par with those of n......more

Goodreads review by A on January 07, 2026

At the risk of sounding dry and repetitive, this book truly exceeded my expectations before reading it. The title and the brief synopsis are just an introduction to a truly interesting and comprehensive topic with a surprising amount of information that will take me a while to digest. It is obviou......more

Goodreads review by Ian on January 20, 2026

Everyone who wants to read this, read Platform Capitalism first, it’ll give you a much needed foundation for what large tech has been doing behind the scenes for the past few decades. However, this book functions here and now, and tries to consolidate the fast pacing and ever changing global, nation......more