AI-Mediated Evolutionary Scavenging: How Colonial Bioprospecting and Indigenous Knowledge Gaps Undermine Plastic-Degrading Enzyme Discovery
Original framing: “Millions of years of evolution guide AI search for pollution-fighting enzymes” — Phys.org
Marginalised voices—such as *Indigenous scientists* (e.g., *Dr. Robyn Wilson* of the *Warlpiri* people) or *Southern environmental justice activists*—have warned that enzyme discovery risks repeating the *neocolonial* extraction of *genetic resources*. For instance, the *Maori* *Te Puni Kōkiri* has advocated for *Indigenous Data Sovereignty*, arguing that AI models trained on *Māori* microbial data should be governed by *Māori* institutions. Similarly, *African* scientists like *Dr. Yaw Nyarko* have critiqued the *brain drain* in biotech, where Southern researchers are sidelined in favor of Northern labs. The narrative’s silence on these perspectives erases the *political economy* of biotech, where marginalised groups are both the *source* of solutions and the *victims* of pollution.
The AI-driven search for plastic-degrading enzymes is not merely a scientific breakthrough but a *cultural and political battleground*—one where Indigenous knowledge, colonial extraction, and corporate power collide.
The narrative’s focus on 'evolutionary guidance' erases the fact that this 'guidance' was historically *stolen* from communities like the *Maori* or *Amazon’s* *chamanic* practitioners, who treated microbes as *partners*, not resources. The solution is not just better AI models but a *radical reimagining* of biotech governance, one that centers *Indigenous Data Sovereignty*, *circular economy* policies, and *trickster-inspired* ethics to disrupt the *zero-sum* logic of extraction. Historical precedents like the *Neem patent scandal* and *Nagoya Protocol* failures show that without *binding* benefit-sharing, enzyme discovery risks becoming another chapter in the *neocolonial* exploitation of biodiversity. The path forward lies in *decolonizing* the lab—literally—by embedding *Indigenous* and *Southern* voices in AI design, ensuring that the *commons* of microbial life are governed by *reciprocity*, not *patents*. This requires not just technological innovation but a *cultural shift* in how we frame our relationship with the living world.