Colonization: How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot

When we talk about colonization, naturally, the conversation almost always centers on the suffering of the colonized, including the stolen lands, shattered cultures, brutal exploitation, and the devastation wrought by colonial powers. And rightly so! The destruction left in the wake of colonial rule is undeniable and unforgivable. Entire societies were uprooted, cultures suppressed, and generations traumatized. The colonized paid an enormous price in blood, spirit, and identity.

But what often goes overlooked is the hidden wound colonizers ignorantly and foolishly inflict on themselves through this very system of domination.

The colonizer, in their pursuit of unmeasurable power and wealth, kills, exploits, and oppresses; also wounding their own society in profound and lasting ways. Colonization is like shooting yourself in the foot while trying to outrun a threat. On the surface, it may look like a gain: resources, influence, control. But beneath that facade, colonization corrupts the moral core, fractures social cohesion, and sows seeds of long-term instability. It works against the very foundations we must strengthen before this age of automated intelligent systems fully unleashes its power.

Why?

Because the colonizers build their power on the dehumanization of others. To justify stealing land, enslaving people, and extracting wealth, the colonizer must cultivate racism, fear, and entitlement. These poison the colonizer’s society, eroding empathy and creating an environment of distrust and cruelty. This moral decay does not stay contained; it spreads, affecting politics, culture, and relationships at home. It is the very same dynamic that trains machine learning models to navigate hidden layers of bias and feed off the prejudices of dismantled mindsets.

Economically, colonization is a short-sighted grab. The immediate wealth extracted from colonies rarely translates into sustainable growth. Instead, it fosters dependency on exploitation and stunts innovation as the colonizer relies on pillaging rather than building equitable systems. This economic imbalance feeds inequality and, over time, weakens the colonizer’s own institutions. Because the very same natural resources they exploit are not eternal, and the economic gains are not everlasting. The industrial model of a world driven by AI-powered economies gives this a more urgent dimension.

Politically, the violence and injustice required to maintain colonial rule spark resistance and rebellion. This creates endless conflict and drains resources as maintaining control demands military force and surveillance. The colonizer becomes trapped in a cycle of oppression that breeds insecurity, unrest, and even paranoia. Imagine what level of devastation a conflict could reach in times where machines can amplify destruction with unprecedented speed and precision.

In essence, colonization devours the colonizer from within. The cost is not only the suffering inflicted on others but the internal breakdown of integrity, virtue and balance. The colonizer loses not just the humanity of those they dominate but their own humanity as well. The colonizers will take us all to ruin if they continue down this path unchecked.

So yes, colonization devastates the colonized. But the colonizer, through greed, arrogance, and cruelty, ends up shooting themselves in the foot. It is a self-destructive path that undermines the very power they seek to secure.

Now, as we stand on the brink of an era dominated by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automated systems, this ancient pattern of exploitation threatens to escalate in ways we are only beginning to understand. AI, powerful as it is, learns from the data we provide, data still steeped in the biases, prejudices, and inequalities born from centuries of colonization. If we continue down this path, we risk building a future where technology magnifies these old wounds rather than healing them.

The systems we create will perpetuate discrimination, deepen social divides, and further entrench the injustices that colonization planted. In doing so, the harm expands beyond borders and generations, touching every corner of the globe. We will have created a new kind of empire—not of land and resources but of data and algorithmic power—that relies on the dehumanization and division of people.

This is why the colonizer’s wound is, in truth, a wound to all of humanity. When we build systems on a foundation of injustice and exploitation, no one is truly free. The same forces that erode empathy and fairness in the colonizer’s society will poison the global community, destabilizing economies, polarizing politics, and undermining the shared trust essential for progress.

To break this cycle, we must confront not only the legacies of colonization but also the new forms of power and control emerging in the AI age. We need to eradicate the biases embedded in our technologies, mindsets shattered by centuries of subjugation, and build systems rooted in equity, respect, and human dignity.

If we fail to do so, the future will be nothing more than the old colonial nightmare replayed on a digital stage, where EVERYONE—colonizer and colonized alike—pays the price of collective downfall.

Ready to understand how centuries of oppression shape our digital future—and how we can break the cycle? Start by getting your copy of Dismantled (Out October 19, 2025) and join the movement to build a more just, equitable world (For All and By All). #DismantledBook