Digital Colonialism: Unveiling AI's Modern Age Exploitation

This article discusses how AI companies exploit data without consent, likening it to colonial practices. The term 'digital colonialism' describes this modern-day exploitation. Resistance inspired by First Nations' strategies is growing, and movements for data sovereignty are offering new paths for the future.

In an era where data is deemed the new gold, AI giants like OpenAI have been accused of scraping vast volumes of internet data without compensating or obtaining consent from creators, akin to digital colonialism.

These companies defend their actions using the 'fair use' doctrine from U.S. copyright law, while concurrently accusing competitors of similar practices. This paradoxical scenario is reminiscent of past colonial practices where territories were claimed under the guise of 'terra nullius', meaning belonging to no one.

Resistance is mounting against these unchecked practices, drawing lessons from First Nations' historical resistance to colonialism. Movements advocating for First Nations data sovereignty propose that data should be owned by native communities, calling for changes in consent and data governance to prevent digital terra nullius.

(With inputs from agencies.)