Co e i, And ea; Cozza, Claudio; Gua ascio, Da io
A icle
Big Tech and he US Digi al-Mili a y-Indus ial Complex
In e economics
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Co e i, And ea; Cozza, Claudio; Gua ascio, Da io (2025) : Big Tech and he US
Digi al-Mili a y-Indus ial Complex, In e economics, ISSN 1613-964X, Sciendo, Wa saw, Vol. 60, Iss.
2, pp. 81-87,
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ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 81
Fo um
And ea Co e i, Claudio Cozza and Da io Gua ascio
Big Tech and he US Digi al-Mili a y-Indus ial Complex
© The Au ho (s) 2025. Open Access: This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License
(h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/).
Open Access unding p o ided by ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e
o Economics.
In e economics, 2025, 60(2), 81-87
JEL: L12, L22, P12
DOI: 10.2478/ie-2025-0017
And ea Co e i, Uni e si y o U bino, I aly.
Claudio Cozza, Uni e si y o Naples Pa henope, I aly.
Da io Gua ascio, Sapienza Uni e si y o Rome, I aly.
La ge digi al pla o ms – Me a (Facebook), Amazon, Mi-
c oso , Alphabe (Google) and Apple, he so-called Big
Tech companies, which a e compa ed o Chinese coun-
e pa s like Alibaba, JD o Tencen – domina e he wo ld
economy. Thei ma ke capi alisa ion has exceeded he
GDP o la ge economies such as Ge many o Japan.1
They con ol a signi ican sha e o global esea ch and
de elopmen (R&D)2 and pa en s ela ed o on ie ech-
nologies, such as a i icial in elligence (AI) (Fan i e al.,
2022; Hö e e al., 2023). These igu es e lec an unp ec-
eden ed concen a ion o echno-economic powe , wi h
majo implica ions o income dis ibu ion, access o
knowledge and inno a ion, agmen a ion and p eca isa-
ion o labou , as well as on ising geopoli ical ensions
(A moogum e al., 2022; Vasude an, 2022).
A he oo o his powe is he con ol o knowledge, in-
as uc u e (e.g. da a cen es, subma ine cables) and,
abo e all, dual-use echnologies – i.e. cloud, AI, and new
sa elli e na iga ion and communica ion sys ems – essen-
ial in bo h ci ilian and mili a y sphe es (Fa ell & New-
man, 2022; Co e i e al., 2024). Unsu p isingly, Big Tech
companies a e now key playe s in he clash be ween he
wo “digi al-mili a y-indus ial complexes” (Gua ascio
& Pian a, 2025) – China and he Uni ed S a es – ha a e
compe ing o global hegemony (Jia e al., 2018; Li & Qi,
2022; Rol & Schindle , 2023). This is con ibu ing o he
blu ing o he s a e-co po a ion bounda ies e en mo e
han wha was obse ed du ing he second hal o he
wen ie h cen u y wi h he ise o ansna ional co po a-
1 See, o example, da a epo ed by Visual Capi alis (2021) and S a is-
a.com (2024).
2 By 2024, Big Tech’s R&D in es men was US $240 billion, mo e han a
qua e o he o al eco ded in he Uni ed S a es. See Gua ascio and
Pian a (2025).
ions (Hyme , 1972; Cowling, 1982). In his espec , he
ubiqui ous ole o Elon Musk wi hin he new T ump Ad-
minis a ion, o he loyal y shown by he o he Big Tech
CEOs du ing he swea ing-in ce emony,3 lend suppo
o he hypo hesis o a s a egic con e gence o in e es s
(O’Ma a, 2020; Co e i e al., 2024).
Mili a y and in elligence appa a uses canno do wi hou
Big Tech. The la e con ol ools (among hem, cloud sys-
ems o AI algo i hms aimed a image and sound ecogni-
ion, beha iou p edic ion and mili a y a ge ing) ha a e
essen ial o su eilling ad e sa ies (and “allies”) and, i
needed, o an icipa e hei mo es on he ba le ield. These
co po a ions play a pi o al ole in mili a y- ela ed inno a-
ion ecosys ems, helping o mobilise he R&D e o s o
s a -ups and acili a ing he ans e o he mili a y sphe e
o echnologies designed o he ci ilian domain (Gawe ,
2022; Gua ascio & Pian a, 2025). No less ele an , media
pla o ms un by Big Tech – e.g. he social media pla o m
X, owned by Elon Musk – a e suppo i e in building po-
li ical consensus and in luencing public opinion, bo h a
home and ab oad.
On he o he hand, public in es men s, pa icula ly hose
aimed a buying and/o de eloping dual echnologies, a e
a ele an sou ce o accumula ion o digi al co po a ions;
as well as a s imulus o hei inno a i e ac i i y (Co e i
e al., 2022). Equally impo an may be go e nmen sup-
po when Big Tech in e na ionalisa ion s a egies a e
hampe ed by hos ile go e nmen s and egula ions (Kwe ,
2019). In his con ex o “mu ual dependence” (Co e i e
al., 2024), he mo e in ense he ela ionship be ween he
s a e and Big Tech is, he less likely he o me is o pu
es ic ions in place – e.g. highe axa ion, s ic e an i-
us measu es o binding egula ions aimed a limi ing
pla o ms’ access o p i a e in o ma ion – ha would se i-
ously challenge he economic powe o he pla o ms.
Building on Co e i e al. (2022, 2024), we ocus on he US
digi al-mili a y-indus ial complex highligh ing and em-
pi ically documen ing he channels holding he wo sides
oge he . Fi s , we iden i y he main elemen s shaping he
in e dependency be ween he s a e and Big Tech. Sec-
ond, we explo e mili a y expendi u es and p ocu emen
3 A e publicly exp essing hei suppo o he new adminis a ion, in-
cluding h ough inancial handou s, he CEOs o Alphabe , Amazon
and Me a ook pa in he inaugu a ion, ma king a ela i e discon i-
nui y om he a i ude o dis ance om poli ics ha has adi ionally
cha ac e ised Big Tech.
In e economics 2025 | 2
82
Fo um
con ac s, showing bo h he p og essi e mili a isa ion o
digi al echnologies, as well as he g owing impo ance
o Big Tech as mili a y con ac o s. Thi d, we shed ligh
on he “ e ol ing doo s” allowing o me Big Tech o ice s
o join mili a y and in elligence agencies, and ice e sa.
Fou h, we documen he ac i e ole o digi al co po a-
ions in cu en wa scena ios, con ibu ing o disman ling
he “don’ be e il” he o ic acco ding o which Big Tech-
con olled in as uc u es and echnologies a e ne e
used o malicious pu poses.
Big Tech and he eme gence o a digi al-mili a y-
indus ial complex
When John Hobson published Impe ialism in 1902, mili-
a y campaigns we e c ucial o opening new ma ke s,
secu ing he supply o aw ma e ials and pu ing com-
pe i o s ou o business. Wi h he consolida ion o la ge
ansna ional co po a ions, mili a y expendi u es ha e
assumed a p ominen ole in sus aining capi al accumu-
la ion, especially du ing pe iods o s agna ion (Ba an &
Sweezy, 1966). Likewise, mili a y- ela ed R&D and p o-
cu emen u n ou o be impo an d i e s o echnology
ans e , pa icula ly o he de elopmen o adical inno-
a ions such as he In e ne (Mowe y, 2009). In he US, he
linkage be ween mili a y R&D agencies (e.g. he De ense
Ad anced Resea ch P ojec s Agency, DARPA) and la ge
p i a e con ac o s is a he co e o he “mili a y-indus-
ial complex”, which was ins umen al o he coun y’s
economic and echnological g ow h du ing he Cold Wa
(Galb ai h, 2007).
The mili a y sec o is hus a domain whe e s a e-co po-
a ion bounda ies may become signi ican ly blu ed (Pi-
an a, 1989; Fos e & McChesney, 2014; Roland, 2021).
Wi h he digi alisa ion o he wo ld economy, his o e lap
becomes e en s onge . Con olling digi al ne wo ks and
he “chokepoin s” h ough which in o ma ion lows om
one con inen o ano he allows o “weaponizing in e de-
pendencies” (Fa ell & Newman, 2022), p o iding a sub-
s an ial ad an age o e enemies and allies alike. Ye , his
is i ually impossible wi hou he suppo o Big Tech, as
he la e con ols knowledge (Rikap, 2024), echnologies,
such as cloud sys ems and AI (Van de Vlis e al., 2024),
and physical in as uc u es, e.g. da a cen es and sub-
ma ine cables (Gjes ik, 2023), wi hou which global ne -
wo ks can ha dly be weaponised. No less ele an , con-
empo a y wa s a e becoming inc easingly “digi al” (Me -
in & Hoskins, 2020). AI-powe ed d ones sold o less han
US $100,000 can easily des oy ai c a s o anks ha a e
100 imes mo e expensi e. Ad anced cloud and sa elli e
communica ions sys ems a e essen ial o ga he ing in-
o ma ion and p e en ing o execu ing a acks (physical
and cybe ). E en he pe o mance o adi ional weap-
ons (e.g. ai c a s, anks, an i-ai c a sys ems) is highly
dependen on hei digi al componen s (Johnson, 2019;
González, 2023; Zikusoka, 2024).
The digi al-mili a y-indus ial complex is ai ly di e en
om he en anglemen o public and p i a e in e es s
denounced by P esiden Eisenhowe in 1961, when he
mili a y-indus ial complex was i s de ined. In he la e ,
adi ional con ac o s (e.g. Lockheed Ma in, Ray heon,
Hallibu on) we e la gely dependen on public demand
and hei inno a i e ac i i y was closely linked o he
needs o he mili a y sec o (Gua ascio & Pian a, 2025).
Acco dingly, p ocu emen ela ionships we e (and o a
good ex en s ill a e) cha ac e ised by la ge, long- e m
con ac s; a s ong ocus on he pe o mance o weapon
sys ems (while less a en ion was de o ed o e iciency o
lexibili y o use); and a high deg ee o bu eauc a isa ion
o p ocesses (Pian a, 1989). This has biased echnologi-
cal ajec o ies and, in some cases, weakened he indus-
y’s abili y o inno a e (Kaldo , 1990). The digi al-mili a y-
indus ial complex ope a es in a a he di e en way. De-
spi e owing hei bi h o a mili a y p ojec ( he In e ne ),
Big Tech ea n mos o hei p o i s in he ci ilian domain;
and a majo i a ian sha e o he echnologies ha hey de-
elop o he mili a y sec o s em om applica ions ini-
ially designed o comme cial pu poses. This gi es hem
g ea e ba gaining powe is-à- is go e nmen p ocu -
e s, consolida ing hei ole as exclusi e p o ide s o dual
echnologies and, mo e b oadly, educing he isk o be-
ing challenged by hos ile egula ions.
The in e dependency be ween he s a e and Big Tech
Fi s o all, he e is an o iginal linkage. As a gued, he eco-
nomic powe o Big Tech s ems om he app op ia ion
o knowledge and echnologies de eloped in he public
(mos ly mili a y) sec o and ans e ed a i ually no cos
by he same go e nmen al appa a uses ha helped de el-
op hem (Mazzuca o, 2013).4 Fi s mo e s, including soon-
o-be Big Tech, ha e begun o push o wa d he echno-
logical on ie , in oducing housands o adical and in-
c emen al inno a ions, designed p ima ily o comme cial
4 Majo p ojec s ca ied ou by US ede al agencies, such as DARPA
(Mowe y, 2010), con ibu ed o he de elopmen o Gene al Pu pose
Technologies (GPTs) – including semiconduc o s, he T ansmission
Con ol P o ocol and he In e ne P o ocol (TCP/IP) (G eens ein,
2020) – and we e c ucial o he sp ead o compu e s and, la e , he In-
e ne i sel (Mazzuca o, 2018). In his con ex , close ela ionships be-
ween DARPA, p i a e echnology i ms and he coun y’s leading uni-
e si ies os e ed echnology ans e , inc emen al inno a ions, and
o ged he U.S. Na ional Inno a ion Sys em (NIS) (F eeman, 1995).
Wi h he “comme cializa ion o he In e ne ” (G eens ein, 2015), ew
companies exploi ed he “ i s mo e ” ad an age by gaining dominan
posi ions in c i ical ma ke segmen s such as sea ch engines (Alpha-
be ), social ne wo ks (Me a), digi al ma ke places (Amazon) and cloud
se ices (e.g. Amazon Web Se ices and Mic oso Azu e).
ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 83
Fo um
Figu e 1
US Fede al p ocu emen con ac s awa ded o
Alphabe , Amazon, Me a and Mic oso , 2008-2024
Sou ce: Adap ed om Co e i e al. (2024).
Million US dolla s
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Depa men o de ense All o he US ede al agencies
2009
2008
use. Al hough hei g ow h akes place mainly in he ci il-
comme cial sphe e, he o iginal linkage be ween Big Tech
and he mili a y appa a us ne e comple ely disappea s.
A e he Twin Towe s a ack on 11 Sep embe 2001, US
mili a y and coun e - e o ism policy ecognised he alue
o digi al in as uc u es and echnologies. As a esul , Big
Tech has been inc easingly in ol ed in in elligence- and
mili a y- ela ed p ojec s, including su eillance sys ems,
secu e communica ions and emo e managemen o
weapons and mili a y equipmen . The dual na u e o ap-
plica ions designed, o ins ance o p edic consume be-
ha iou (Zubo , 2019) o op imise he unc ioning o logis-
ics sys ems, is beginning o eme ge (González, 2023).
A he same ime, skills and compe ences s emming om
he public sec o a e a c ucial sou ce o knowledge o de-
elop Big Tech’s R&D p ojec s (Rikap & Lund all, 2022). On
he demand-side, he Depa men o De ense (DoD) budge
o digi al echnologies kep g owing. In he iscal yea 2024
budge , DoD eques ed US $315 billion o weapon sys ems
acquisi ion, an inc ease om US $276 billion in 2023. This
includes US $170 billion o p ocu emen and US $145 bil-
lion o esea ch, de elopmen , es and e alua ion (R&DTE).
Digi al echnologies play a cen al ole in R&DTE e o s,
wi h signi ican unding inc eases o cybe space, spec-
um, AI, 5G, and o he digi al- ela ed p og ammes (Co e i
e al., 2024). Mo eo e , in es men in command, con ol,
communica ions, compu e s and in elligence (C4I) – a ield
hea ily elian on digi al echnologies – has expe ienced he
as es g ow h among DoD budge componen s. Funding
inc eased om US $7.4 billion in 2017 o US $12.8 billion in
2023 and is p ojec ed o each US $21 billion in 2025.5 This
budge co e s command cen es, da a p ocessing, IT in a-
s uc u e, communica ion sys ems, ai a ic con ol, nigh
ision equipmen and cybe space ope a ions. Addi ionally,
science and echnology (S&T) ac i i ies will ecei e US $18
billion in 2025, wi h p io i ies ocusing on AI and machine
lea ning applica ions, 5G, mic oelec onics, quan um sci-
ences, cybe wa a e, hype -sonics, di ec ed ene gy weap-
ons (such as lase s and pa icle beams), bio echnology and
space echnologies.
Rega ding mili a y- ela ed p ocu emen con ac s awa d-
ed o Big Tech, we showed how he o me inc eased
abou hi een old om 2008 o 2024. To illus a e, Figu e 1
epo s he alue o con ac s awa ded o Big Tech, high-
ligh ing he sha e o esou ces s emming om he DoD.
Compa ed o he o e all e enues o Big Tech, he alue
o hese con ac s is ob iously small. Ye , hese igu es
5 De ailed in o ma ion can be ound a comp olle .de ense.go /Po -
als/45/Documen s/de budge /FY2024/FY2024_Budge _Reques _
O e iew_Book.pd .
likely unde es ima e he eal numbe s, as many mili a y
and in elligence- ela ed p ojec s a e classi ied (González,
2023). Wha uly ma e s, howe e , is he ole ha Big
Tech play in managing c i ical in as uc u e and echnol-
ogies. Acco dingly, Table 1 epo s a selec ion o mul i-
yea con ac s ha DoD, he Cen al In elligence Agency
(CIA) and Na ional Secu i y Agency (NSA) awa d Big Tech,
p o iding de ails on he amoun s, na u e o he se ices
deli e ed, and hei in ended mili a y o in elligence ap-
plica ions.
In 2013, he CIA awa ded Amazon Web Se ices (AWS)
a 10-yea con ac , wo h a o al o US $600 million, o
p o ide cloud compu ing se ices o all 17 US in elligence
agencies. In 2014, AWS launched i s i s “Top Sec e
Region”, called “Top Sec e -Eas ”, which was ollowed
by he launch o a second, known as “Top Sec e -Wes ”,
p o iding cloud se ices o US in elligence and de ence
agencies (including he NSA). Mic oso has been p o id-
ing simila se ices unde he “Azu e Go e nmen Sec e ”
p ojec s, launched in 2017, and “Azu e Go e nmen Top
Sec e ”, in oduced in 2021.
O he ele an ini ia i es include: P ojec Ma en, launched
by he DoD in 2017 and in ol ing i s Google and la e
Amazon and Mic oso , aimed a de eloping su eillance
so wa e embedded in mili a y d ones; Comme cial Cloud
En e p ise, con ac ed in 2020 by he CIA wi h AWS, Al-
phabe , IBM, Mic oso and O acle o p o ide cloud se -
ices; Wild and S o my (wo h US $10 billion), awa ded by
he Na ional Secu i y Agency (NSA) o AWS in 2022 and
aimed a ans e ing US in elligence da a om in e nal
se e s o Amazon’s cloud in as uc u e; Join Wa igh -
ing Cloud Capabili y (JWCC), awa ded in 2022 by he
DoD o Amazon, Google, Mic oso and O acle ( he eco-
nomic alue was disclosed o be abou US $9 billion) o
s eng hening he mili a y cloud.
In e economics 2025 | 2
84
Fo um
Table 1
Selec ion o mili a y con ac s assigned by DoD, CIA and NSA o US digi al co po a ions (2013-2024)
Sou ce: Adap ed om Co e i e al. (2024).
Yea Depa men Con ac o
Amoun
(million US $) Na u e o ac i i ies S a ed objec i e
2013 CIA Amazon 600 Cloud Da a managemen aimed a p e en ing e o is a acks
2019 DoD
(“P ojec Ma en”)
Alphabe (wi h-
d awn); Amazon
and Mic oso
50 D ones Acquisi ion o AI echnologies o imp o e image ecogni ion in
mili a y d ones
2020 CIA
(“Comme cial
Cloud En e p ise”)
Alphabe , Amazon,
Mic oso and
O acle
“Tens o
billions”
Cloud Cloud se ices cen alised o 17 in elligence agencies
2021 DoD
(HoloLens)
Mic oso 21,9 Augmen ed eali y
iso s
HoloLens augmen ed eali y headse o mili a y ac i i ies in
highly complex en i onmen s
2022 NSA
(“Wild and S o my”
p ojec )
Amazon 10 Cloud NSA cloud in as uc u es
2022 DoD Mic oso n.a. S yke a mou ed
ehicles
Digi al ools o be embedded in o a med A my ehicles
2022 DoD Alphabe (Google
public sec o
di ision)
n.a. Google wo kspace P o ision o Google Wo kspace o 250,000 DoD employees
2022 DoD
(“Join Wa igh ing
Cloud Capabili y”)
Alphabe , Amazon,
Mic oso and
O acle
9Cloud De ense cloud in as uc u e
2022 DoD
(“Hyb id Space
A chi ec u e”
p og am)
Amazon and
Mic oso
n.a. Sa elli es Space and land in as uc u e o na ional secu i y
2022 DoD Amazon 724 Cloud Cloud se ices o p ocess and s o e da a o c i ical missions
2023 Space Sys ems
Command / DoD
Mic oso 19.8 Cloud-based space
simula ion ( iewable
wi h Mic oso Holo-
Lens headse s)
Space simula o aimed a gaining si ua ional awa eness and
ac ing as e han ad e sa ies
2024 DoD Amazon 22 Cloud Cloud se ices o he A my depa men o he US Special
Ope a ions Command
AWS also con ibu ed o he de elopmen o he i s pe -
manen ac ical cloud o he US A my’s XVIII Ai bo ne
Co ps, as well as he launch o AWS Modula Da a Cen e
and AWS Snowblade. The la e a e de ices made a ail-
able o he DoD o enable he A my o collec , s o e and
p ocess da a in emo e o high- isk wa a e con ex s. Fi-
nally, in addi ion o cloud echnologies and in as uc u e,
he Pen agon acqui ed 120,000 HoloLens augmen ed e-
ali y iso s, de eloped by Mic oso – based on a 2021
con ac wo h nea ly US $22 billion – ha we e aimed as
much a equipping soldie s as a being inco po a ed in o
S yke a mou ed ehicles.
Why is his e idence so ele an ? By o e seeing da a
cen es, cloud se ices, subma ine cables, AI sys ems
designed o p e en cybe a acks and in as uc u es
ha ensu e connec i i y in con lic zones, Big Tech has
become he eyes and ea s o go e nmen s bo h a home
and ab oad (Co e i e al., 2024). This allows hem o ac-
cess sensi i e in o ma ion and de elop speci ic compe-
ences ha may u he s eng hen hei posi ion is-à- is
na ional go e nmen s. Mo eo e , he possibili y o expe i-
men ing wi h new echnologies in ex eme and ba ely eg-
ula ed con ex s such as ba le ields p o ides such co -
po a ions wi h a unique oppo uni y o pe ec and e ine
new applica ions. In his espec , i is in e es ing o no e
ha many companies p oducing AI echnologies empha-
sise hei ole as mili a y con ac o s as a way o highligh
hei eliabili y and echnological ingenui y.6
6 A case in poin is he wa in Gaza, whe e digi al companies – includ-
ing many US Big Tech i ms – ha e ushed o o e he Is aeli mili a y
he la es ad ances in he ield o AI. See, o example, h ps://www.
washing onpos .com/ echnology/2025/01/21/google-ai-is ael-wa -
hamas-a ack-gaza/.
ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 85
Fo um
Re ol ing doo s
The inc easingly close ela ionship be ween Big Tech and
he mili a y sec o can also be highligh ed by looking a he
“ e ol ing doo s” al eady documen ed du ing he Cold Wa
(B un on, 1988; E zion & Da is, 2008; Duncan & Coyne,
2015). This is abou he mo emen o a g owing numbe
o senio Big Tech execu i es in o mili a y and in elligence
agencies, while o me membe s o he mili a y appa a us
a e appoin ed o hold op oles in he same companies.
These mo emen s allow he mili a y sec o o le e age
skills and ne wo ks o ela ionships ha can be c ucial o
moni o he echnological on ie o iden i y, in a imely
manne , he mos p omising applica ions (Lund all & Ri-
kap, 2022). By he same oken, o me mili a y and in elli-
gence pe sonnel can help Big Tech o an icipa e demand-
side needs, be e ailo ing digi al applica ions and ci -
cum en ing he bu eauc a ic cons ain s ha o en slow
down di usion and echnology ans e . Rela i ely ecen
examples include he o me Apple Vice P esiden Doug
Beck, who was ecen ly appoin ed as he new di ec o
o he De ense Inno a ion Uni ;7 and he Alphabe ’s o -
me CEO E ic Schmid , who se ed – along wi h o me
Sec e a y o S a e Hen y Kissinge and o me Depu y
Sec e a y o De ense Robe Wo k – as Chai man o he
De ense Inno a ion Ad iso y (DIA) Boa d and he Na-
ional Secu i y Commission on AI, namely ad iso y bod-
ies aiming o coun e China’s g ow h in he de elopmen
o dual (digi al) echnologies. As o he mo emen s om
he mili a y appa a us o Big Tech, no able cases include
o me DIA Execu i e Di ec o Josh Ma cuse, who in 2020
ook a managemen ole wi hin Google Public Sec o , i.e.
he Google’s depa men ha de elops echnologies o
go e nmen agencies, including hose ela ed o he mili-
a y; and Gene al Kei h Alexande , o me di ec o o he
NSA om Augus 2005 o Ma ch 2014 and commande o
US Cybe Command om May 2010 o Ma ch 2014, who
joined Amazon’s boa d o di ec o s in Sep embe 2020.8
Big Tech goes o wa
Finally, he digi al-mili a y-indus ial complex mani es s
i sel wi h he di ec in ol emen o Big Tech in ongoing
7 The De ense Inno a ion Uni – launched in 2015 by hen Sec e a y o
De ense Ash Ca e – is a new US agency asked wi h engaging digi-
al co po a ions in he de elopmen o de ence p ojec s, na owing
he gap be ween he mili a y and on ie comme cial echnologies
(Kaplan, 2016).
8 O he no able cases in ol e e ol ing doo s be ween de ence- ela -
ed go e nmen agencies and Google di isions, pa icula ly Google
Public Sec o . Acco ding o he Tech T anspa ency P ojec , om
2006 o 2016, 258 such ins ances occu ed be ween Google and US
ede al agencies, including he CIA and o he secu i y agencies. See
Google’s Re ol ing Doo (2016).
con lic s. In Uk aine, in addi ion o he majo ole played
by Space-X, Elon Musk’s company p o iding In e ne
connec i i y o he Uk ainian a my h ough i s low-o bi
sa elli e sys em, AWS and Mic oso ha e been manag-
ing he IT in as uc u e o he Uk ainian public adminis-
a ion and banking sys em since he e y ea ly s ages o
he con lic (González, 2023; Co e i e al., 2024). Big Tech
has been p o iding cloud and AI se ices o he Is aeli
a my in i s wa in Gaza. Mo e speci ically, since 2021, he
US $1.2 billion Nimbus p ojec ies Alphabe and Amazon
o he Is aeli go e nmen o he p o ision o AI-based a-
cial ecogni ion and objec acking sys ems. The la e
ha e played a p ominen ole in he mili a y campaigns
conduc ed in Gaza since Oc obe 2023. In 2024, Google
ag eed on an ex ension o he pa ne ship o p o ide Is-
ael’s Minis y o De ence wi h addi ional cloud se ices.
As a gued, access o con lic a eas p o ides pla o ms
wi h a unique es -bed o es ing, e alua ing and adap ing
new echnologies. Acco dingly, he ba le ield becomes a
peculia labo a o y ha allows o expe imen a ion, es -
ing and e inemen o mili a y echnologies ha , in some
cases, may p o e ans e able and p o i able in he ci il-
ian domain as well (Fox & P obasco, 2022; Be geng uen,
2024). A he same ime, as Big Tech becomes essen ial
pa ne s in conduc ing an inc easing numbe o mili a y
ac i i ies, he go e nmen ends o build s able alliances
wi h hese companies. Again, he cu en T ump-Musk
liaison could be conside ed a piece o e idence suppo -
ing such hypo hesis.
Conclusions
The link be ween Big Tech and he mili a y appa a us
b ings back adi ions o economic hough oo o en o -
go en o in en ionally emo ed, such as he wen ie h
cen u y heo ies o impe ialism and monopoly capi al
(Hobson, 1902; Ba an & Sweezy, 1966). The deba e on
he mili a y-indus ial complex, a concep associa ed wi h
P esiden Eisenhowe ’s a ewell add ess in 1961, also e-
gains ele ance. Howe e , i seems o ha e been ans-
o med in o a digi al-mili a y-indus ial complex whe e he
key ac o , Big Tech, sha e he peculia i y o being, a he
same ime, big ma ke playe s, con olle s o echnologies
essen ial o ci izens’ li es and indispensable pa ne s o
he mili a y appa a us. This makes he in eg a ion o s a e
and p i a e capi al e en close and mo e complex han
in he pas . I is in his con ex ha he in e dependence
be ween he s a e and Big Tech is o ged: a ela ionship
in which he in e es s o he s a e p o e a imes indis in-
guishable om hose o Big Tech, as he la e domina es
he in as uc u e, echnologies and knowledge neces-
sa y o he economic, poli ical and mili a y su i al o
con empo a y socie ies.
In e economics 2025 | 2
86
Fo um
The ela ionship be ween Big Tech and he mili a y ap-
pa a us is no ee o con adic ions, howe e . O ien ing
an inc easing pa o R&D ac i i ies owa d mili a y objec-
i es may nega i ely bias he inno a i e s a egy o hese
co po a ions, educing hei in e ac ions wi h he ci ilian
domain, whe e a signi ican pa o inc emen al inno a-
ions is de eloped; and weakening he o ganisa ional lex-
ibili y equi ed by lea ning p ocesses along he echno-
logical ajec o y (Pian a, 1989). In he medium o long un,
his may esul in a weakening o he inno a i e capaci y
o Big Tech, which may ind i sel in ol ed in ex emely ex-
pensi e bu echnologically un ealis ic p ojec s, as hap-
pened du ing he 1980s wi h he S a egic De ense Ini ia-
i e (o S a Wa s) launched by Ronald Reagan (Gua ascio
& Pian a, 2025).
Mo eo e , he close ela ionship wi h he mili a y appa a us
may gi e ise o con lic s be ween execu i es (inclined o
mee he demands o hei go e nmen coun e pa s) and
wo ke s, e en ually unwilling o employ hei skills o pu sue
mili a y objec i es. In Ap il 2024, dozens o Alphabe engi-
nee s we e i ed o opposing he a o emen ioned Nimbus
p ojec , which in ol es he Is aeli mili a y’s use o ech-
nologies de eloped by he company (simila p o es s ook
place wi hin Amazon). Simila ly, in 2018, mo e han 3,000
Google employees signed a pe i ion agains he company’s
in ol emen in he a o emen ioned P ojec Ma en. This led
o Google’s abandonmen o he p ojec (quickly eplaced
by Mic oso and Amazon), al hough i s en u e capi al wing
(Google Ven u es) e ained s akes in a leas wo compa-
nies supplying mili a y su eillance ools (O bi al Insigh and
Plane ) o bo h he DoD and he Na ional Geospa ial-In elli-
gence Agency (NGA). The DoD “ u ned o e ” he manage-
men o P ojec Ma en o he NGA in 2022.
The in e dependence be ween he s a e and Big Tech
ha we ha e documen ed challenges he adi ional dis-
inc ion be ween he s a e and he ma ke , blu ing hei
bounda ies and, mos impo an ly, ques ioning he willing-
ness (and abili y) o he o me o con ol (and discipline)
he la e in he collec i e in e es . This should no come as
a su p ise: as we ha e shown, Big Tech u ns ou o be in-
c easingly impo an bo h o winning oday’s ie ce in e -
capi alis compe i ion, as well as o winning he wa s ha
such compe i ion con inually h ea ens o igge .
In such a amewo k, ins umen s such as an i us policies
can do li le agains he powe o hese la ge co po a ions,
i only because he ines imposed on hem a e smoo hed
ou wi h he u no e o a ew days, i no hou s. Ra he , i
would be necessa y o ques ion he p i a e monopoly o
knowledge and in as uc u e ha unde lies his powe , as
well as he in e mingling o in e es s ha exis s be ween
hem and he expansionis aims o hei go e nmen s.
Eu ope aces conside able di icul ies in his con ex . I s
echnological de ici in he digi al domain makes i highly
dependen on he US digi al-mili a y complex. Apa om
he non- i ial a emp s o cu b he powe o Big Tech
h ough an i us measu es o ia he in oduc ion o egu-
la ions aimed a limi ing he access o pe sonal da a (e.g.
he Gene al Da a P o ec ion Regula ion, GDPR), Eu opean
ci izens, companies and membe s a es do no ye ha e
much o an al e na i e bu o ely on he digi al se ices o -
e ed by Big Tech. In his espec , he a ms ace ha he EU
is launching isks u he s eng hening he digi al-mili a y
complex, hus inc easing a he han educing such de-
pendency.
Eu ope should pu o h an al e na i e o such a dange ous
con e gence be ween he powe o big co po a ions and
he mili a isa ion o digi al echnologies. I is no ine i able
o use such echnologies o condi ioning consume s’ be-
ha iou , su eillance, o o make wa . No is i ine i able ha
he con ol and de elopmen o digi al echnologies ends
up in seemingly unb eakable p i a e monopolies, con ib-
u ing o he g ow h o inequali ies and he weakening o
democ a ic sys ems. On he con a y, in he con ex o a
edisco e ed indus ial policy, he EU should wo k owa ds
building public digi al pla o ms ha con ibu e o di ec
esea ch and inno a ion e o s owa ds he pu sui o col-
lec i e in e es s (e.g. expanding he supply o public goods
such as heal h and educa ion) and no owa ds s eng hen-
ing sys ems o ep ession and wa . Acco dingly, he sys em
o ules pu in place by policies such as he GDPR o he
AI Ac 9 should be consolida ed, no weakened in he name
o compe i i eness, as he D aghi epo seems o sugges
(D aghi, 2024).
E en mo e impo an , howe e , is he need o e hink he
p i a e na u e o he In e ne , which seems o ha e be-
ayed i s ini ial p omises: no he expec ed ec o o wide-
sp ead economic oppo uni ies and democ a ic empow-
e men , bu a d i e o commodi ica ion, concen a ion o
echno-economic powe and geopoli ical ensions.
9 h ps://digi al-s a egy.ec.eu opa.eu/en/policies/ai-pac
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