The Colonizer’s Goal: Breaking Minds, Controlling Bodies, and the Parallels to AI Robotics
Throughout history, colonization has operated on a simple yet devastating principle: the domination of the mind and spirit to achieve complete control over the body. This process of dehumanization and exploitation transforms individuals into tools of production, stripped of autonomy and identity. While the methods of control have evolved, the goal remains unchanged. Today, this exploitative framework is reflected in the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics, which echo the dehumanizing logic of colonization. The parallels between the rebranding of human servitude and the development of AI technologies reveal uncomfortable truths about power, exploitation, and the ongoing struggle for freedom.
COLONIZATION AND THE SUBJUGATION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
THE COLONIZER'S PRIMARY OBJECTIVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO STRIP COLONIZED PEOPLES OF THEIR SENSE OF SELF-WORTH, CULTURAL IDENTITY, AND COLLECTIVE SPIRIT. BY DISMANTLING INDIGENOUS SYSTEMS OF KNOWLEDGE, LANGUAGE, AND GOVERNANCE, COLONIZERS IMPOSED THEIR OWN IDEOLOGIES, ENSURING THAT THE COLONIZED WOULD INTERNALIZE FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY. THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR PHYSICAL EXPLOITATION. ONCE THE SPIRIT WAS BROKEN, THE BODY COULD BE HARNESSED AS A MERE INSTRUMENT OF LABOR, WHETHER THROUGH PLANTATION SLAVERY, FORCED MIGRATION, OR INDUSTRIAL SERVITUDE.
THIS PROCESS MIRRORS A CENTRAL ASPECT OF COLONIZATION: REDUCING HUMAN BEINGS TO FUNCTIONAL TOOLS. COLONIZED BODIES WERE SEEN NOT AS PEOPLE WITH INHERENT RIGHTS BUT AS RESOURCES TO BE OPTIMIZED FOR THE BENEFIT OF AN OPPRESSIVE SYSTEM. THE DEHUMANIZATION OF ENTIRE POPULATIONS WAS JUSTIFIED BY NARRATIVES OF RACIAL SUPERIORITY, ECONOMIC NECESSITY, AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS. BY FRAMING DOMINATION AS A MEANS TO A "GREATER GOOD," COLONIZERS MASKED THE BRUTALITY OF THEIR ACTIONS, PRESENTING EXPLOITATION AS A FORM OF BENEVOLENCE.
SUICIDE BOMBERS AS SMART BOMBS: A MODERN FORM OF DEHUMANIZATION
IN MODERN WARFARE, THE CONCEPT OF SUICIDE BOMBERS AS "SMART BOMBS" STARKLY ILLUSTRATES THE CONTINUITY OF DEHUMANIZING IDEOLOGIES. SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE OFTEN MANIPULATED BY LARGER SYSTEMS OF POWER, THEIR BODIES TURNED INTO WEAPONS TO ACHIEVE STRATEGIC GOALS. THIS TRANSFORMATION OF HUMANS INTO TOOLS REFLECTS THE SAME LOGIC OF COLONIZATION: BREAKING THE MIND THROUGH PROPAGANDA, IDEOLOGY, OR DESPERATION, AND THEN EXPLOITING THE BODY FOR DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES.
THE TERM "SMART BOMB" IMPLIES TECHNOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION, YET IT OBSCURES THE DEEPLY EXPLOITATIVE REALITY OF THIS TACTIC. IT REBRANDS HUMAN LIVES AS TECHNOLOGICAL ASSETS, STRIPPING THEM OF THEIR HUMANITY AND REDUCING THEM TO FUNCTIONAL ROLES WITHIN A LARGER APPARATUS OF VIOLENCE. THIS PARALLELS HOW COLONIZED POPULATIONS WERE TREATED AS INSTRUMENTS OF ECONOMIC AND TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, THEIR AUTONOMY OBLITERATED IN SERVICE OF AN OPPRESSIVE AGENDA.
AI ROBOTS: SLAVES REBRANDED AS TECHNOLOGY
THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS REPRESENTS A NEW ITERATION OF THIS HISTORICAL PATTERN. AI IS OFTEN HERALDED AS A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE, CAPABLE OF PERFORMING TASKS THAT HUMANS FIND UNDESIRABLE, DANGEROUS, OR TEDIOUS. FROM FACTORY FLOORS TO DOMESTIC SPACES, AI TECHNOLOGIES ARE INCREASINGLY INTEGRATED INTO DAILY LIFE AS TOOLS OF CONVENIENCE AND EFFICIENCY. HOWEVER, BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THIS INNOVATION LIES AN UNSETTLING PARALLEL TO THE LOGIC OF COLONIZATION.
AI ROBOTS, LIKE COLONIZED PEOPLES OR ENSLAVED BODIES, ARE DESIGNED TO SERVE WITHOUT QUESTION, PERFORMING TASKS DICTATED BY THOSE IN POWER. THE LANGUAGE SURROUNDING AI OFTEN ROMANTICIZES ITS CAPABILITIES WHILE GLOSSING OVER ITS ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS. JUST AS THE RHETORIC OF THE "CIVILIZING MISSION" JUSTIFIED COLONIAL EXPLOITATION, THE NARRATIVE OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS LEGITIMIZES THE CREATION OF A NEW CLASS OF SUBJUGATED ENTITIES. THE FACT THAT THESE ENTITIES ARE MACHINES RATHER THAN HUMANS DOES NOT ABSOLVE US OF EXAMINING THE UNDERLYING POWER DYNAMICS AT PLAY.
BY FRAMING AI ROBOTS AS THE SOLUTION TO TASKS "WE" NO LONGER WISH TO PERFORM, SOCIETY PERPETUATES A HIERARCHICAL DIVISION OF LABOR REMINISCENT OF COLONIAL EXPLOITATION. THE CREATION OF A CLASS OF ENTITIES DESIGNED SOLELY FOR LABOR RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ETHICAL BOUNDARIES OF INNOVATION. ARE WE MERELY SHIFTING THE BURDEN OF LABOR ONTO MACHINES, OR ARE WE REPLICATING PATTERNS OF EXPLOITATION UNDER A DIFFERENT GUISE?
RESISTANCE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION
JUST AS COLONIZED PEOPLES RESISTED THE DEHUMANIZING FORCES OF IMPERIALISM, SOCIETY MUST CRITICALLY EXAMINE THE SYSTEMS OF POWER THAT UNDERPIN AI AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. RESISTANCE BEGINS WITH RECOGNIZING THE PARALLELS BETWEEN HISTORICAL PATTERNS OF EXPLOITATION AND CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGICAL PRACTICES. IT INVOLVES QUESTIONING THE NARRATIVES OF PROGRESS THAT JUSTIFY THE CREATION OF NEW FORMS OF SUBJUGATION AND ADVOCATING FOR ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS THAT PRIORITIZE EQUITY, AUTONOMY, AND DIGNITY.
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION IS ONGOING, AND ITS LESSONS ARE AS RELEVANT TODAY AS THEY WERE DURING THE ERA OF COLONIZATION. BY UNDERSTANDING HOW THE DEHUMANIZATION OF THE PAST INFORMS THE EXPLOITATION OF THE PRESENT, WE CAN WORK TOWARD A FUTURE THAT VALUES HUMANITY IN ALL ITS FORMS—WHETHER EMBODIED IN PEOPLE OR REFLECTED IN THE TECHNOLOGIES WE CREATE.
The colonizer's goal of breaking the mind and spirit to control the body is a historical reality with modern implications. From the exploitation of colonized peoples to the rebranding of labor through AI robotics, the logic of domination persists. By confronting these parallels, society has an opportunity to challenge systems of power that perpetuate exploitation and envision a future rooted in justice and mutual respect. Whether addressing the legacy of colonization or the rise of AI, the fundamental question remains: How can we create systems that honor humanity rather than diminish it?