Dickson C. Igwe. Photo: VINO/File

Digitization has contributed to the significant increase in US GDP since the Great Recession of 2008.  US GDP stands at $30 trillion today. In 2008, it was under $ 15 trillion. That is a 100% increase in output. Globally in 2008, GDP was $64Trillion in 2008; in 2024, it was $110 trillion. The USA and China account for 50% of global GDP. Both are colossal economies.

Clearly, not all of that GDP growth is due to digitization. However, digitization has played its part. The World Bank has stated that digitization growth leads other sectors growing by at least 7% in the last decade. Digitization has led in the growth of the world economy. 

Digitization is not all good news, however. The world is becoming subject to a new breed of capitalist. Technology and digitization are not as democratic as appears. In fact, digitization has actually increased the power of the Dollar over our lives. 

OK. Companies such as META, Google, and Oracle have driven up the value of US capital markets, GDP, and the wealth of the families who own these behemoths. 

Increasingly, the Magnificent 7 drives US hegemony.  The Magnificent 7 refers to the world’s largest and most profitable businesses: Apple, Amazon, NVidia, Microsoft, Meta, Google-Alphabet and Tesla. These businesses are the spearhead of American power.

A new breed of tycoon, termed the oligarch, controls these powerful and vast digital platforms that control access to the internet. The 1% is becoming much more powerful and wealthy, with the help of digital technology.

Super Corporations like the global digital shopping center Amazon rule through the adoption of algorithms and vast digital platforms that we all must access in order to exist in the present world order. These businesses control access. They control human behavior in very subtle ways, influencing how users engage with digital technology. That is a very powerful form of control. 

The potential for greater prosperity for all Virgin Islanders and residents through AI and related technologies is great; nonetheless, in spite of the increase in American hegemony. 

A much more interconnected and diverse world with various states increasing their economic and social power, and the rise of the Global South, points to greater options for Caribbean economies and societies. 

The Caribbean today is a relatively safe and stable region when compared to many parts of the world where war and worse threats. That is something for which Virgin Islanders and residents should be grateful.