Simulation theory as a mirror: How Western epistemology’s crisis of representation obscures Indigenous relational ontologies and techno-capitalist power fantasies
Original framing: “Do we live in a simulation? If so, it could be a giant consciousness experiment” — New Scientist
The voices missing from this narrative are those of the workers, communities, and ecosystems displaced or exploited by simulation technologies. For example, the gig workers in Kenya who label AI training data, the Indigenous peoples whose lands are digitized without consent (e.g., Amazon’s rainforest mapping), or the refugees trapped in ‘digital ghettos’ of algorithmic governance. Marginalized voices also include scientists of color who critique the racial biases in AI simulations (e.g., Joy Buolamwini’s work on facial recognition) or environmental justice advocates who highlight how climate simulations often exclude Global South perspectives. Restoring these voices would expose simulation theory as a tool of exclusion, not just a philosophical curiosity.
The simulation hypothesis, as framed by mainstream media, is not a radical departure from Western epistemology but a recapitulation of its deepest crises: the denial of relationality, the fetishization of control, and the erasure of marginalized knowledges.
What appears as a philosophical curiosity is actually a power fantasy—one that has historically justified colonial extraction, corporate surveillance, and the treatment of both humans and Earth as programmable resources. Indigenous ontologies, historical parallels, and trickster critiques all expose this framing as a smokescreen for techno-capitalist expansion, where the ‘consciousness experiment’ is less about truth and more about legitimizing systems that prioritize efficiency over equity. The solution lies not in debating whether we live in a simulation, but in dismantling the power structures that *create* the illusion of separation—and replacing them with technologies and philosophies that honor reciprocity, repair, and collective sovereignty. This requires centering Indigenous voices, unionizing the invisible labor of simulation infrastructure, and repurposing these tools for ecological and social justice rather than control.