Calling for a feminist revolt to decolonise data and algorithms in the age of Datification

TL;DR

This paper advocates for a feminist and decolonial approach to challenge and transform the hegemonic datafication and algorithmic systems that perpetuate violence, exclusion, and cultural erasure, emphasizing education and alternative design.

Contribution

It highlights the importance of feminist and indigenous resistance within datafication, proposing education and alternative algorithmic strategies as tools for decolonization.

Findings

Feminist and indigenous groups are actively resisting hegemonic data practices.

Education is crucial for empowering communities to reclaim digital sovereignty.

Alternative algorithms and data strategies are being designed to counteract colonization.

Abstract

Feminist and women groups, indigenous communities and scholars in the global south/north refusing to adhere to hegemonic datafication programs have started to organise and fight back from the inside. The first essential step is to show and problematise technological progress exhibiting the poverty, violence, exclusion, and cultural erase promoted by this "progress". The second step is to promote technology, algorithmic and artificial literacy. Education is critical to learn how to revert and revoke the datified digital twin already colonising all Earth's societies silently and with impunity. It is not the colonisation of body-territories; it goes beyond and occupies humanity's mind's essence, i.e., imagination and imaginary. Against the colonisation of the imaginary, militant groups are imagining and designing alternative algorithms, datasets collection strategies and appropriation methods. The paper discusses their actions and alternative thinking.