Techno-Feudalism and The Colonial Appropriation of Life
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We are constantly being reminded that the progress of AI, robotics and technology in general are inevitable and essential developments for the good of humanity that will define the future. However, in an era of postindustrial capitalism, the ideal of the technological imperative has been hijacked to culminate in the colonial appropriation of life and its annexation to capital — Techno-feudalism. This is a story of what that means.
‘Exponential technological innovation’, ‘AI solutions’, ‘the inevitability of technology’, ‘the price of progress’, and other similar expressions, are part of a vocabulary of ideas and ideals that outline the themes for narratives about the future and what is possible. The hype surrounding technology, propels these ideas and ideals to the forefront of social consciousness, denying space in the public sphere for alternative, human centred, vocabularies of possibility, and what is desirable.
This ideological colonisation is periodically reinforced by high profile technologists who project authority, and present privileged insights in public statements and forecasts. The ideological foundation of the narrative subordinates human and social concerns to the technological imperative — The concept that new technologies…
