Democracies cannot simply watch and wait for corporations to decide
Advanced AI models now in hands of tech giants pose security risks; Spain's CNI warns of easier cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and financial systems. Tech oligarchs operate beyond government control; Palantir's manifesto advocates replacing state power with 'technological republic,' signaling corporate dominance over democracy.
- Mythos, an AI system created by Anthropic, can identify security flaws in seconds and is controlled by Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon
- Spain's CNI warns of escalating cyberattack risks to banks, power grids, and critical infrastructure
- Palantir's manifesto advocates replacing government power with a 'technological republic'
- Barcelona hosted the first International Summit on Digital Rights in May 2026
Spain grapples with AI's dual nature as powerful tech companies control advanced systems like Anthropic's Mythos, raising concerns about cybersecurity threats and erosion of democratic freedoms.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect. It moves through our lives now, woven into the systems we depend on each day. The question that will define the next decade is not whether AI exists, but whether we can shape it to serve humanity—or whether we will watch it hollow out the democratic freedoms that took centuries to build.
Consider what happened this week in Spain. The National Intelligence Center, the CNI, is working overtime to defend banks, power grids, and government networks against a new class of cyberattack. The culprit is Mythos, an artificial intelligence system created by Anthropic to find security flaws in software. It was designed for a specific purpose: to help companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon patch their own vulnerabilities. But Mythos lives in the hands of a small number of corporations. And if it ever reaches someone with darker intentions, it can identify security gaps in seconds—gaps that could unlock access to millions of people's data or cripple essential services. The threat is not hypothetical. It is immediate.
Barcelona hosted the first International Summit on Digital Rights this week, and the alarm bells were ringing. The government's minister for digital transformation, Óscar López, organized the gathering with the Mobile World Capital and spoke about legislative efforts underway to manage AI's risks. His words were measured, his intentions clear. Yet the underlying message was harder to ignore: lawmakers are moving too slowly. "Democracies cannot simply watch and wait for corporations to decide what happens," López said. But that is precisely what is happening. The real power over artificial intelligence rests with a handful of technology leaders who operate largely beyond the reach of law.
These tech oligarchs are not shy about their ambitions. Palantir, a software giant, recently published a manifesto that laid bare the new order it envisions. The document does not call for partnership with governments or democratic oversight. It calls for the creation of a technological republic—a system in which corporate power replaces state authority. The language is bold. The intent is unmistakable. Everything is moving at extraordinary speed, and almost no one is steering.
Artificial intelligence itself is not the enemy. It is a tool of immense power and potential. The crisis is one of control. Right now, the users are being used. The technology is not serving humanity; humanity is being shaped by the technology. Governments must act with urgency to reclaim authority over these systems before the window closes entirely. If they do not, the democratic structures we have fought to preserve will become ornamental—present in form but powerless in fact.
Citas Notables
Democracies cannot simply watch and wait for corporations to decide what happens— Óscar López, Spain's Minister for Digital Transformation
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a security tool like Mythos matter so much? Isn't it just one piece of software among thousands?
Because it's not just a tool—it's a skeleton key. Once you can identify security flaws in seconds, you can unlock almost anything. The speed is what changes everything. A human hacker might take weeks to find a vulnerability. Mythos finds it in moments. And it's in the hands of three or four companies.
So the real problem is concentration of power, not the technology itself?
Exactly. The technology is neutral. But when one company controls the master key, and governments have no say in how it's used, that's when democracy becomes a spectator sport.
Palantir's manifesto sounds almost like a declaration of war against the state.
It's more honest than that. They're not declaring war—they're announcing they've already won. They're saying the old rules don't apply anymore. And the frightening part is, they might be right.
Can governments actually catch up? Or is the gap too wide?
That depends on whether they move now. Every month they wait, the gap widens. The Barcelona summit was important because it acknowledged the urgency. But acknowledgment isn't action.
What would real action look like?
Breaking up the monopolies. Forcing transparency in how these systems work. Making sure no single company controls the keys to critical infrastructure. It's not complicated in theory. The hard part is doing it before the corporations convince everyone it's impossible.