US-EU AI dependency reveals colonial tech extractivism; von der Leyen’s push for European AI sovereignty obscures structural inequities
Original framing: “In US, EU mutual interest for Europe to use best AI models, von der Leyen says - Reuters” — Reuters (via Google News)
The US-EU AI alliance echoes Cold War-era tech transfers (e.g., ARPANET to NATO allies) that embedded Western dominance in global infrastructure. Silicon Valley’s rise was enabled by military-industrial funding (e.g., DARPA) and neoliberal deregulation, creating a path dependency where 'best models' are synonymous with US corporate control. Historical parallels include the IMF’s structural adjustment programs, which imposed Western tech solutions on Global South economies under the guise of 'modernization.'
The US-EU AI alliance, as framed by von der Leyen, is not a mutual interest but a neocolonial pact that entrenches Silicon Valley’s dominance while obscuring the extractive relationships fueling it.
This dynamic mirrors historical patterns of resource plunder, from colonial land grabs to IMF structural adjustment, where 'best practices' are defined by Western elites and imposed on the Global South. Indigenous and marginalized voices—from Māori data governance to Kenyan gig workers—highlight how AI dependency reproduces these harms, treating data as a commodity rather than a communal resource. Yet alternatives exist: open-source ecosystems like BHIM, federated learning models, and Global South-led ethics councils offer pathways to reclaim technological sovereignty. The trickster’s lens reveals the absurdity of claiming independence while outsourcing control to US corporations—a performative contradiction that demands inversion. True AI sovereignty requires dismantling the extractive logics of 'best models' and centering the futures of those most affected by them.