Mother Jones: Post

Mother Jones

Power Hungry

When we first began to chronicle the rise of the American oligarchy, Donald Trump was a private citizen, the future of the internet was the Metaverse, and Elon Musk was—well, if we’re being honest, he’s really always been like this. But in Trump’s second presidential term, that consolidation of wealth that helped make his presidency possible has shifted into a new gear. The world’s richest men joined forces with the world’s most powerful man in pursuit of a technological breakthrough that would reorder society and make them unfathomably rich—or bring us all down with them.

For our May + June 2026 issue, Mother Jones explores the roots and reach of Silicon Valley’s biggest merger ever and the implications of Big Tech’s quest for an AI revolution, which is already upending our world.

Aerial view of eight of the buildings included in the Stargate Project's Abilene, Texas data center, flanked by rows of parked cars.How the American Oligarchy Went Hyperscale

The AI boom is fueling a literal and metaphorical power grab by tech billionaires—and forcing a reckoning.

A GIF illustration in red, black, and white of two heads partly made up of 0's and 1's, representing binary code, and the letters A, T, G, and C, representing the four-letter genetic code. The two heads rotate before momentarily pausing, facing the viewer.Creating Baby Geniuses to Thwart the AI Threat? (Yes, Really.)

The new wave of Silicon Valley–backed gene-editing startups is straight out of “Brave New World.”

In an illustration, a painting of Jesus walking on water is altered to make him appear to be holding a green computer chip. He appears to be walking toward his disciples, who are gathered in a boat nearby.Tech Billionaires Want Christians to Believe in AI

For Peter Thiel and JD Vance allies, the tech right is framing AI as a moral—even divine—mission.

Graphic-novelesque illustrations of Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in black and white on a red background.Geek Tragedy

Look upon their works and despair.

A black-and-white photo of a data center overlayed by a simple red chart that shows an arrow going up.Number Go Up

These charts tell the story of oligarchy in overdrive.

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