The growing digitalization of our society has led to a meteoric rise of large technology companies (Big Tech), which have amassed tremendous wealth and influence through their ownership of digital infrastructure and platforms. The recent launch of ChatGPT and the rapid popularization of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) act as a focusing event to further accelerate the concentration of power in the hands of the Big Tech. By using Kingdon’s multiple streams framework, this article investigates how Big Tech utilize their technological monopoly and political influence to reshape the policy landscape and establish themselves as key actors in the policy process. It explores the implications of the rise of Big Tech for policy theory in two ways. First, it develops the Big Tech-centric technology stream, highlighting the differing motivations and activities from the traditional innovation-centric technology stream. Second, it underscores the universality of Big Tech exerting ubiquitous influence within and across streams, to primarily serve their self-interests rather than promote innovation. Our findings emphasize the need for a more critical exploration of policy role of Big Tech to ensure balanced and effective policy outcomes in the age of AI.

中文翻译：

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大型科技公司的力量为何以及如何在政策制定过程中增强？生成式人工智能的案例

我们社会的日益数字化导致大型科技公司（Big Tech）迅速崛起，它们通过拥有数字基础设施和平台积累了巨大的财富和影响力。最近ChatGPT的推出和生成式人工智能（GenAI）的快速普及成为进一步加速权力向科技巨头集中的焦点事件。通过使用 Kingdon 的多流框架，本文研究了大型科技公司如何利用其技术垄断和政治影响力来重塑政策格局，并将自己确立为政策过程中的关键参与者。它从两个方面探讨了大型科技的崛起对政策理论的影响。首先，它发展了以大科技为中心的技术流，突出了与传统以创新为中心的技术流不同的动机和活动。其次，它强调了大型科技公司在各领域内和跨领域发挥无处不在的影响力的普遍性，主要是为了服务于自身利益，而不是促进创新。我们的研究结果强调，需要对大型科技公司的政策作用进行更批判性的探索，以确保人工智能时代平衡和有效的政策结果。