The highly anticipated book Technocolonialism: When Technology for Good is Harmful has been published in the UK and EU by Polity, marking a significant contribution to current discussions around technology and humanitarianism. The eBook version is now available worldwide, while the U.S. print release is slated for January 2025. This news, originally shared in a LinkedIn post, highlights both the urgency and importance of the work.
In Technocolonialism, Mirca Madianou explores how digital humanitarian efforts—such as chatbots for refugees, facial recognition in cash disbursements, and algorithmic decision-making for aid—can inadvertently harm vulnerable populations. Through rigorous research, the book traces how these AI-driven practices perpetuate colonial structures, raising profound questions about technology’s role in global inequality.
Reflecting on the decade-long journey to create this book, Mirca Madianou acknowledges the challenges of confronting colonialism and expresses hope that this work will foster important conversations around computational harm and datafication. The book’s striking cover, featuring a still from Zach Blas’s Face Cages installation, captures the essence of its themes by visually representing the “violence of technocolonialism.”
For those attending the AOIR 2024 conference in Sheffield, a book launch event will be held at the Polity stand on Thursday, October 31, at 3 p.m., with refreshments provided.