The MIT Technology Review has written a four-part series on how the impact of AI is “repeating the patterns of colonial history.” The Review is careful not to directly compare the current situation with the colonialist capturing of land, extraction of resources, and exploitation of people. Yet, they clearly show that AI does further enrich the wealthy at the tremendous expense of the poor.
The four parts travel from privatised surveillance networks in South-Africa (terrifying), to an AI data-labeling platform in Venezuela (exploitative). And from ride-hailing drivers in Indonesia (inspiring), to an attempt to revitalise Māori language with AI (hopeful). Read the the four parts here:
- Part 1: South Africa’s private surveillance machine is fueling a digital apartheid
- Part 2: How the AI Industry profits from catastrophe
- Part 3: The gig workers fighting back against the algorithms
- Part 4: A new vision of artificial intelligence for the people
Image by Edel Rodriguez from the original MIT Technology Review series.