Digital Colonialism: How the AI Revolution Will Widen Development Gaps

Digital Colonialism: How the AI Revolution Will Widen Development Gaps

In 2022, only 25% of people in low-income countries were connected to the Internet, compared to over 90% of people in high-income countries. Yet, a 2023 Time Magazine article boldly claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) will enable “the greatest redistribution of power in history.” Given the existing digital divide, how is it possible for the benefits of AI to be distributed evenly? 

A recent report by the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology states that AI will exacerbate inequalities between high- and low-income countries. Uneven access to widespread, affordable, and reliable broadband Internet and electronic devices will drive disparities in adopting AI technologies. Generally equipped with more robust digital infrastructure, stronger capacities for research and development, and more skills-based economies, higher-income countries are poised to leverage AI-related technology in ways that developing countries are not. Among what the United Nations considers the 45 “Least Developed Countries” (LDCs), including Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Uganda, more than 500 million people do not have access to electricity. In addition to this low electrification rate, the cost of accessing technology in developing countries presents significant challenges. In the LDCs, the price of a benchmark mobile broadband monthly package with 2 gigabytes of data is  four times the global average. Further, it costs approximately 95% of an average monthly income to acquire a smartphone in the LDCs. It is clear that developing countries will continue to face additional challenges in adopting AI. For instance, how can one use AI software without having access to the Internet and an electronic device? 

Centralizing AI-related expertise and innovation in developed nations also gives them a significant competitive advantage. Big Tech hubs like Silicon Valley, which houses more than 38 Fortune 500 companies — including tech giants like Google, Meta, and Apple — in addition to thousands of startups, enable companies to benefit from shared talent, knowledge, networks, and facilities. The overrepresentation of such hubs and large corporations in developed countries positions them at an advantage in terms of research and development related to technology and AI. Furthermore, this gives them priority access to capitalize on AI-related intellectual property, such as patents, as they operate near the source of development. 

Some proponents of AI argue that its revolutionary potential could allow developing countries to “leapfrog” traditional development and technological adoption pathways, accelerating both human and economic development. A World Bank blog post invites readers to consider the rapidity at which various technologies reached 100 million users worldwide: mobile phones took 16 years, the internet took seven years, and the Apple Store took two years. By comparison, ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot system, has achieved this reach in just two months. This unprecedented pace of adoption suggests AI’s potential as a transformational tool across sectors — from manufacturing to education — to spur growth and development. For example, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) explained that “teaching tools, ways of learning, access to knowledge, and teacher training will be revolutionized” through AI by reducing barriers to education and automating processes such as grading, giving teachers more time to focus on more meaningful tasks. In healthcare, AI tools may be used to streamline services such as diagnoses and to bridge accessibility gaps for individuals in remote areas. 

However, these optimistic projections rely on several flawed assumptions. First, these outcomes assume that these technologies are widely accessible. As previously highlighted, developing countries face disproportionately high costs of technological equipment and low electrification rates. The aforementioned statistics about the rate of technological adoption also warrant scrutiny. While 100 million users stands alone as an impressive benchmark, it represents only a small proportion of the global population, which currently stands at over 8 billion. More importantly, it does not account for the socio-economic makeup of those 100 million people: it is likely that early adopters of AI-related technology are relatively wealthy and already have access to a certain level of digital infrastructure. 

Finally, these disparities are further compounded by the realities of surveillance capitalism and digital colonialism, which perpetuate uneven power dynamics between developed and developing countries. Explored in Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff’s 700-page book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, surveillance capitalism refers to the process of Big Tech companies collecting user data to influence behaviours, often without users’ informed consent. Since, as already established, Big Tech companies are concentrated in the Global North, one must critically examine how the concept of surveillance capitalism relates to North-South relations. This is where digital colonialism emerges. Digital colonialism uses technology as the lens through which to analyze power dynamics between developed and developing countries, illustrating striking similarities between contemporary and colonial-era relations. It can be argued that the process of resource extraction by imperial powers during the colonial period is reflected today in the extraction of raw data from individuals in the Global South. Big Tech corporations and organizations use this data to analyze and target user preferences as well as to train and enhance AI models. This data, similar to valuable natural resources, serves to enrich and sustain powerful Western corporations, as according to the OECD, user data “has gained substantial exchange value.” As such, tech companies, disproportionately located in the Global North, can monetize these insights and applications through selling and trading in data marketplaces. Evidently, powerful Western actors continue to benefit from resources extracted from the Global South, exemplifying the concept of digital colonialism and perpetuating uneven patterns of growth and development. 

With its seemingly unstoppable growth, it is imperative to consider how AI-related technology and associated implications perpetuate existing power imbalances. By virtue of their stronger digital infrastructure and powerful positioning on the world stage, it is clear that developed countries are better positioned to leverage AI-related technology than developing countries, ultimately widening development gaps. This is particularly evident when considering the digital divide that already exists between developed and developing countries. Expanding access to digital infrastructure, establishing comprehensive regulatory frameworks that hold Big Tech accountable, and empowering tech companies in the Global South are just some of the potential ways to level the AI playing field. In any case, these measures are essential to mitigate the further widening of development gaps.

Edited by Mia Alexander

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