The great game of artificial intelligence — Jonathan Yen
MAY 5 — As the world remains embroiled in the US-China trade spat, an interesting live broadcast took place in Moscow recently. At the 'Youth Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club's New Generation Project', a peculiar topic caught my attention — a discussion on artificial intelligence and technology.
Contrary to popular view, AI is not viewed with the same rose-coloured lenses by Generation Z, like myself. An AI-driven future is not one that provides us with the comfort of job security as well as our privacy. Thus, when a topic like this is being discussed in a country like Russia, it arguably deserves closer attention.
The Great Game
In order to truly appreciate the emergence of new superpower competition in the 21st century, we need to go back to the 'Great Game', which marked the rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires and their influence over Central Asia then.
Today, AI could become a new battleground for influence, raising the collateral consequences of escalating geopolitical tension between the US and China. As each side seeks to improve and commercialise its AI models, it will have to rely on other nations to supply the unique data and resources required to effectively turn them into 'digital colonies'.
In other words, we are witnessing a new form of geopolitical influence: an AI-driven 'metropolisation' of our societies and economies. While it is understandable that many countries are keen to jump on the AI bandwagon, it could come at the cost of their national sovereignty. In the past, physical land and resources were prized possessions. Today, by adopting foreign AI models and regulations, as well as selling off land and resources for foreign-built data centres, are they not, in essence, surrendering their sovereignty? According to the symposium mentioned above, this could also be viewed as a 'soft form' of colonisation.
There is no doubt that the US and China currently lack mutual trust. Yet, our future and economic well-being are deeply intertwined with these competing superpowers. In their race for dominance, it will be hard for them to resist using AI to tighten their grip on future generations as a form of control.
AI could become a new battleground for influence, raising the collateral consequences of escalating geopolitical tension between the US and China. — Reuters pic
AI colonisation
Colonisation can be defined as a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples for the purpose of cultivation, exploitation, trade and in some cases, settlement.
What is AI colonisation?
The panelists noted that AI development has become a fiercely competitive battleground among nations, particularly between the United States and China. Due to AI's data and resource-intensive nature, only major powers could possess the capacity to build AI models domestically. While the commercial entities developing AI is undeniable, control often remains closely tied to their respective governments.
What about smaller countries like those in South-east Asia? The simpler and more economical path is to adopt AI models commercially. This approach is not only more efficient, but it can also provide substantial foreign investment, primarily in the form of data centres funded and operated by tech giants.
However, AI models have their own ecological uniqueness which carries the cultural blueprint of the country of origin. Take China's Deepseek model as an example. Deepseek is able to illustrate both Oriental and Western folklore. Yet, it struggles when asked to depict characters from say, a Slavic folklore such as Kolobok, due to insufficient data from that cultural domain.
This suggests that AI is currently limited by its own enclosed ecosystem, confined only to the inherent features of its parent nation. As time goes by, the more it learns from other cultures, the more the ecosystem expands in its knowledge and capabilities. The more information it absorbs, the more persuasive its influence becomes. We already know that Chinese models like Deepseek follow China's party line, and American models like OpenAI have strong political biases.
Is the global race for AI dominance leading us into a modern-day version of the 19th-century 'Great Game'? Is Generation Z at risk of being caught in a digital conflict driven by external powers as part of the great game towards 'AI colonisation'?
* This is the personal opinion of the writers or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
24 minutes ago
- The Star
Qatar closes airspace, US and UK tell citizens to shelter in place
FILE PHOTO: Police officers stand guard in front of the U.S. embassy in Doha September 14, 2012. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad/ File Photo DOHA (Reuters) -Qatar said on Monday it had shut down its airspace temporarily, hours after U.S. and British authorities contacted their citizens there recommending that they shelter in place until further notice. The U.S. and British announcements, which triggered a slew of messages from many Doha-based institutions to employees and students, came as Iran repeated earlier threats to retaliate against the U.S. after strikes on its nuclear sites. Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. base in the Middle East, which serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command and accommodates approximately 10,000 troops. Two U.S. officials separately told Reuters that Iran could carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, with one source saying it could happen in the next day or two. The messages from Britain and the U.S. embassy in Qatar said their recommendations were made "out of an abundance of caution" and offered no further information. Qatar's foreign minister said on X that its airspace would be closed as part of measures taken amid developments in the region, without going into further detail. Earlier, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari had released a statement saying the security situation there remained stable. Many Qatar residents were confused by what they said appeared to be mixed messaging from Qatari and U.S. embassy officials. The Qatar campuses of American universities in Qatar sent messages to staff and students after the embassy announcement. Texas A&M University said an evacuation of its building had been ordered, Northwestern University asked people to go home and Georgetown University said people could go home if they wished. The American School, which is not in session, closed its campus and cancelled summer camps until further notice. (Reporting by Andrew Mills and Tala Ramadan; writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Aidan Lewis and Andrew Heavens)
The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
Qatar shuts down airspace temporarily amid regional crisis
(Reuters) -Qatar said it has shut down airspace temporarily as part of measures taken amid developments in the region, a statement by the Qatari foreign ministry said on X. It said the move comes to ensure safety of residents and visitors. The shutdown of Qatari airspace comes as Iran repeated earlier threats to retaliate against the United States after strikes on its nuclear sites. (Reporting by Andrew Mills; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
Kenya to charge police officers with murder over blogger's death in custody
FILE PHOTO: Civil society activists hold placards as they demonstrate against the death of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody, in the city of Mombasa, Kenya June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Laban Walloga/File Photo NAIROBI (Reuters) -Kenyan prosecutors said on Monday they approved murder charges against six people, including three police officers, for their role in killing a political blogger whose death in police custody sparked large protests. Kenya's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement that the six suspects would be arraigned on Tuesday. One of the police officers was the commander at the station where Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger and teacher, was held in Nairobi. It was not immediately clear whether the defendants were represented by counsel. Ojwang died earlier this month following his arrest as part of an investigation triggered by a complaint by the deputy national police chief, Eliud Lagat. Lagat had filed a formal complaint about allegedly false and malicious information published about him on social media, according to the state-funded police watchdog. Police initially attributed Ojwang's death to suicide but apologised after an autopsy found that his wounds were the result of assault. Ojwang's death prompted hundreds to protest police brutality over the past two weeks. Additional demonstrations are expected on Wednesday, which will also mark the one-year anniversary of a mass protest that culminated in the storming of parliament and several deaths by police gunfire. Kenyan activists who have been protesting Ojwang's death immediately accused prosecutors of engaging in a cover-up by only charging low-level officers. Lagat, who has denied any wrongdoing, stepped down temporarily from his post last week pending completion of the investigation into Ojwang's death. One of the other officers charged with murder, James Mukhwana, told investigators that his superiors told him there was "an order from above" to have Ojwang roughed up when he came into the station, according to a copy of his testimony seen by Reuters. Reuters has not been able to reach Lagat directly for comment and the National Police Service declined to provide comment on his behalf. (Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Aaron Ross and Bill Berkrot)
