AI is the New Colonialism?

AI is the new colonialism?

Pope Leo XIV warned of this in his Encyclical.

And similarly, Karen Hao, a journalist, author, and an outspoken critic of the rapid AI development, says that tech researchers often describe their work in religious terms.

From the NPR article (link in comments):

"Some AI executives promise utopian outcomes — from curing diseases to ending poverty and stabilizing the climate — while warning that failure to act will lead to catastrophe. Hao added that framing mirrors the missionary logic that drove historical colonialism."

And while this hit me especially hard as a former graduate student of international development, where I learned how much colonialism has shaped present-day inequality, I still choose to forge ahead on the AI path.

Why?

Because I believe that we cannot afford to let the AI overlords determine our future.

And because I'm not the type to sit idly by while our world is being reshaped, I have decided to take an active role in it.