The Future of Power: What Happens When AI, Technology & Human Nature Collide?
Published by Ryan Gollan / 7 March 2025
Tonight, I attended a business dinner hosted by an impact investment firm from Luxembourg. It was a thought-provoking evening, and I have enjoyed all the conversations. What struck me the most wasn’t the business discussions, it was the debate about the future of humanity, AI, and power.
The conversation started with the utopian idea that technology will eventually replace most human labour, that automation will allow everyone to live comfortably with a Minimum Basic Income (MBI), and that the future will be more equal for all.
But as I listened, a question formed in my mind: what about power?
Because while technology can change how wealth is created, human nature doesn’t change so easily.
Wealth isn’t just about money, it’s about control, access, and influence.
So I askedmyself:
If AI and automation reshape industries, what happens to power?
Will wealth remain concentrated, or will it finally be distributed more equally?
And does history suggest that those in control will ever willingly give it up?
And the more I thought about it, the more I realised, this is the real conversation we should be having.
Because the future isn’t just about technology replacing human labour.
It’s about who controls that technology, and how that changes the balance of power forever.
The Future: Who Owns the Next Generation of Power?
The answer lies in three forces shaping the world right now:
1. Technology & AI → Who owns the systems that run our world?
2. Human Nature → Does power ever really get redistributed?
3. The Control of Influence & Media → In a world of automation, who shapes what people think?
(1) AI & Automation: The New "Oil" of the World
For the past century, power was built on industries like oil, real estate, and finance.
But in the future, data, AI, and technology will be the new sources of control.
The Next Billionaires Won't Be in Banking: They'll Be in AI
The companies that own AI and automation will control entire industries.
Jobs will disappear as machines become smarter, and power will shift toward those who own AI-driven companies.
The Data Monopoly: Why Information Is More Valuable Than Money
Data is the new currency. Those who control it (Big Tech, governments, AI firms) will dictate economies.
Google, Amazon, and Meta already control what billions of people see and think: imagine this power in 20 years.
The power won’t be in who has the most money, but in who controls the intelligence that runs the world.
(2) Human Nature: Will Power Ever Be Shared?
Some might think that the technology will create a future where everyone has enough to live happily.
That automation will eliminate financial inequality, and everyone will receive a universal income.
But history suggests otherwise.
- The Concentration of Wealth Is a Pattern That Keeps Repeating
Every technological revolution creates more wealth, but also more inequality.
The Industrial Revolution made factory owners rich, not factory workers.
The digital revolution made tech founders billionaires, not programmers.
- Greed & Control Will Still Exist, Just in New Forms
Even if Minimum Basic Income (MBI) becomes reality, will the top truly give up power?
Those who own AI, automation, and data-driven economies will still control society.
Money may become less important than control over influence, access, and knowledge.
Technology changes how power looks, but it doesn’t change who holds it.
(3) The Control of Media & Influence: The Invisible Power
We often think of power in terms of money, corporations, and politics.
But what if the most dangerous form of power is controlling what people believe?
- Social Media & Algorithmic Influence
If machines control what we see, then whoever programs the machines controls reality.
Future power may not be about owning factories but about shaping beliefs and culture.
- The Age of Misinformation: Controlling What’s True
In the digital era, truth is not about facts, it’s about who controls the narrative.
Fake news, misinformation, and AI-generated content will make it nearly impossible to know what’s real.
If corporations, governments, or AI algorithms control the flow of information, they control society itself.
Money will still exist, but true power will be in shaping how people think.
(4) The Role of AI in Replacing Leadership & Decision-Making
Right now, we think of power in human terms: politicians, CEOs, media moguls.
But what happens when AI becomes more advanced than human decision-makers?
- AI as the Ultimate Authority
We are moving toward a future where AI will be more efficient at running economies, making policies, and managing companies than humans.
Some experts predict that governments, corporations, and even courts will rely on AI for critical decisions.
- Will AI Become the New "Elite" Over Humans?
If AI can think faster, predict better, and manage resources more effectively, does human leadership become obsolete?
In 50 years, will the most powerful “individuals” on Earth not even be human, but AI entities that control infrastructure, finance, and media?
- What Happens to Free Will?
If AI can analyse our behaviours, emotions, and desires before we even know them ourselves, do we still have true autonomy?
Will we live in a world where AI predicts who we should date, what career we should pursue, what we should believe?
If AI makes better decisions than us, will we willingly give up control and let it run our lives?
AI will not only reshape wealth and power among humans, it could eventually become the power itself.
Will the Future Be Equal, or Controlled?
AI and automation could make life better for everyone.
Or they could create an even bigger divide between those who control technology and those who don’t.
We often think technology will fix everything.
But technology is just a tool.
It’s human nature that will decide whether it creates a more equal future or a more divided one.
It is 2025 now, let’s see what the next 10 years will unfold. Now, peace out! x
