"Power is no longer exercised through military force alone, but via technology, finance, and control over information, experts warn. Istanbul, Turkiye When investigations by Al Jazeera and other media outlets in 2024 revealed that Israeli-linked artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as Lavender and Gospel had helped generate thousands of military targets in Gaza, critics warned that warfare was entering a new era one driven not only by soldiers and bombs, but by algorithms, data, and surveillance technology."
"Then, in September 2024, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah exploded in coordinated attacks in Lebanon, widely attributed to Israeli intelligence operations that had turned ordinary communication devices into weapons. And, last year, reporting by Al Jazeera also raised concerns about the use of cloud and data infrastructure linked to major US technology companies in Israeli surveillance operations involving Palestinians."
"For a growing number of scholars, economists and political thinkers, these developments reflect more than just the changing nature of conflict. They show how power in the modern world is increasingly exercised not just through military force, but through technology, finance and control over information. That argument has revived broader debates around decolonisation a term historically associated with the dismantling of European empires after World War II, when countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East gained formal independence."
"But many proponents of what is termed decolonial theory a school of thought arguing that colonial-era systems of power and hierarchy still shape modern politics, economics and knowledge argue that colonial power structures never fully disappeared. Instead, they evolved, embedding themselves in global financial systems, technology platforms, media networks and even the production of knowledge itself. Dependence of Global South countries on Western technology, digital infras"
Israeli-linked AI systems generated thousands of military targets in Gaza, and coordinated pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon turned ordinary communications into weapons. Reporting also raised concerns about cloud and data infrastructure tied to major US technology companies being used in Israeli surveillance operations involving Palestinians. These developments indicate conflict is shaped by algorithms, data, surveillance, and infrastructure. Scholars and political thinkers argue that modern power operates through technology, finance, and control over information. Decolonisation debates are revived, with decolonial theory arguing colonial power structures did not disappear and instead evolved within global financial systems, technology platforms, media networks, and knowledge production, including ongoing dependence of Global South countries on Western technology and digital infrastructure.
#ai-and-warfare #information-control #decolonial-theory #surveillance-infrastructure #global-power-and-finance
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]