Giant tech firms and the bosses behind them are becoming as politically powerful as nation-states, the new head of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency has warned.In her first public speech as MI6 chief this month, Blaise Metreweli said, “our world is being remade” by new technology products in a way once only depicted in science fiction.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listSpeaking from the MI6 headquarters in London, she warned that technologies are “rewriting the reality of conflict as they converge to create science fiction-like tools”. She said some algorithms used by social media platforms could “become as powerful as states”.Metreweli warned that the “defining challenge of the 21st century” was “not simply who wields the most powerful technologies, but who guides them with the greatest wisdom”.Just a handful of tech giants now control how information reaches the public, raising concerns that their owners could manipulate information and communications for their preferred political outcomes.While Metreweli did not cite specific examples, two or three US firms dominate social media and Elon Musk, the owner of X (as well as SpaceX and Tesla), also controls Starlink – the satellite communications network that is considered crucial for the Ukrainian military in its ongoing war with Russia.This is a type of monopoly, but while Metreweli was talking mainly about political power and influence, monopolies can wield immense economic power as well.Monopolies in other industries are also causing havoc. India’s airline market was rocked by rising prices and a pilot shortage r …
