University of Tabriz Journal of Philosophical Investigations 2251-7960 Articles in Press 2026 06 05 From Cybernetic Capitalism to Digital Supercapitalism: AI, Data, and the New Political Economy of Computational Power From Cybernetic Capitalism to Digital Supercapitalism: AI, Data, and the New Political Economy of Computational Power 21685 10.22034/jpiut.2026.72820.4546 FA Michael Peters Visting Distinguised Professor, School of Education, Tsinghua University Journal Article 2026 06 03 The contemporary transformation of capitalism under digital conditions requires a conceptual vocabulary capable of distinguishing its historical phases, operational mechanisms, and geopolitical consequences. This paper proposes a three-stage theoretical framework: cybernetic capitalism, algorithmic capitalism, and digital supercapitalism. These concepts do not function as interchangeable descriptors of a generalized digital economy; rather, they represent historically successive yet overlapping formations in the evolution of informational capitalism. Cybernetic capitalism identifies the transition from industrial production to knowledge-based systems structured by feedback, control, and communication—exemplified by early computing, systems engineering, and organizational cybernetics from the mid-twentieth century. Algorithmic capitalism marks the intensification of this logic through autonomous computational systems capable of real-time prediction, optimization, and governance, as seen in platform economies, high-frequency trading, and data-driven management. Digital supercapitalism names the most recent phase, characterized by planetary-scale data extraction, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and the concentration of computational power in trillion-dollar technology corporations and sovereign AI states. Unlike prior phases, digital supercapitalism generates new forms of value capture through foundation models, cloud empires, and geopolitical rivalries over semiconductor supply chains and compute sovereignty. Together, these concepts illuminate the changing political economy of knowledge, labor, and technological power in the age of AI, offering a critical lens for analyzing contemporary monopolies, labor precarity, and the reconfiguration of state–market relations under accelerating automation. The contemporary transformation of capitalism under digital conditions requires a conceptual vocabulary capable of distinguishing its historical phases, operational mechanisms, and geopolitical consequences. This paper proposes a three-stage theoretical framework: cybernetic capitalism, algorithmic capitalism, and digital supercapitalism. These concepts do not function as interchangeable descriptors of a generalized digital economy; rather, they represent historically successive yet overlapping formations in the evolution of informational capitalism. Cybernetic capitalism identifies the transition from industrial production to knowledge-based systems structured by feedback, control, and communication—exemplified by early computing, systems engineering, and organizational cybernetics from the mid-twentieth century. Algorithmic capitalism marks the intensification of this logic through autonomous computational systems capable of real-time prediction, optimization, and governance, as seen in platform economies, high-frequency trading, and data-driven management. Digital supercapitalism names the most recent phase, characterized by planetary-scale data extraction, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and the concentration of computational power in trillion-dollar technology corporations and sovereign AI states. Unlike prior phases, digital supercapitalism generates new forms of value capture through foundation models, cloud empires, and geopolitical rivalries over semiconductor supply chains and compute sovereignty. Together, these concepts illuminate the changing political economy of knowledge, labor, and technological power in the age of AI, offering a critical lens for analyzing contemporary monopolies, labor precarity, and the reconfiguration of state–market relations under accelerating automation.