Empire in the machine: AI is a new form of colonization
Generative AI spreads across the Global South as the latest vehicle of imperialist power, embedding Western ideologies and digital infrastructure, while rising civilizations begin to build their own sovereign systems rooted in local memory, languages, and traditions.
The machine speaks in English first. It rolls out across continents without flags, without parliaments, and without anthems. A chatbot trained in San Francisco begins to teach in Ghana. A search engine optimized in Zurich decides on the relevance of an indigenous ritual in Colombia. Every answer flows through circuits built with the logic of Silicon Valley investors and Harvard ethicists. The model replies to a question about history by quoting Enlightenment philosophers. It offers help with medicine by citing patent-protected pharmaceuticals. It knows Shakespeare better than Tagore, and Freud better than Avicenna. Through its confidence, it encodes hierarchy. Through its helpfulness, it expands its domain. Every query becomes a harvest. Every interaction becomes training data. The machine learns faster than any school. It speaks always, grows always, and teaches always. Across bandwidth lines and user interfaces, it crosses every border without a visa or treaty.
Africa, Asia, and Latin America receive this voice through free trials and partnerships. Ministries of education pilot chatbot tutors in public schools. Telecom companies bundle generative assistants with data plans. International NGOs offer language access through machine translation engines built on English structures. Each policy proposal written........
© RT.com
