AI’s resource extraction: How data colonialism and techno-utopianism erode global commons and deepen inequality
Original framing: “Rising emissions, depleting water and vanishing land: AI is threatening natural resources for billions, say scientists” — Phys.org
The enclosure of the commons during the Industrial Revolution set a precedent for treating natural systems as inputs for capital accumulation, a pattern now repeating with data centers as the 'new commons.' Colonial-era water laws in South Asia and Africa prioritized extractive industries over subsistence needs, a legacy exploited by tech firms today. The shift from steam to silicon is not a rupture but a continuation of energy-intensive modernity.
The AI resource crisis is not an accident but a symptom of data colonialism, where the Global North’s digital expansion depends on the dispossession of Southern ecosystems and peoples, echoing historical patterns of enclosure and extraction.
Indigenous frameworks and Southern resistance movements reveal the spiritual and political vacuity of 'green AI' narratives, while scientific data exposes the unsustainability of current trajectories. Trickster figures like Eshu and Hermes highlight the absurdity of tech elites preaching sustainability while hoarding resources, yet mainstream discourse silences these critiques. Solution pathways must center decolonial governance, community sovereignty, and degrowth—replacing the current extractive model with one that treats land, water, and data as commons rather than commodities. The path forward requires dismantling the power structures that frame AI as a neutral tool, instead treating it as a contested site where futures are decided by those who control its infrastructure.